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Blue Cross rejecting payments for HIV/AIDS medication

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Mike Reitz: Stop AIDS discrimination by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana.

    By Robert Darrow

            Shreveport, Louisiana
Due to a new policy from Louisiana’s largest health insurer, hundreds of people living with HIV and AIDS are in danger of losing access to essential medication.BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) is rejecting checks from a federal program designed to help these patients pay for AIDS drugs and insurance premiums and has begun notifying customers that their enrollment in its Obamacare plans will be discontinued because it will no longer accept “third-party payments.” This funding was established through the Ryan White CARE Act of 1990 which has been crucial to ensuring that those living with HIV and AIDS can gain access to the medication they need.Several months ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) encouraged health plans to stop accepting “third-party payments,” but this weekend (February 8th), CMS stated unequivocally that “federal rules do not prevent the use of Ryan White funds to pay for health care plans.” BCBSLA said it is “reviewing and considering this new information,” but we need commitments to help save and extend hundreds of lives in Louisiana.

As someone living with AIDS who helped found the local organization in Shreveport that oversees Ryan White funding, I know these funds change lives — and I’m afraid that if BCBSLA gets away with denying this coverage, other insurers across the country could follow suit. Please join me in tell BCBSLA to accept federal funding for people living with HIV and AIDS and to stop this discrimination.
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Lonnie Bunch at the NMAAHC


Friends,

I hope you are having a great start to your new year! Before we tackle the work we have ahead for us in 2014, I want to take a moment to celebrate all that you helped us achieve in 2013. When I came on board in 2005, we didn’t have a site selected for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Today, the site — adjacent to the Washington Monument on the National Mall — is a flurry of activity; we poured the foundation of the Museum last year and the next phase of construction is well underway. We’ve collected more than 23,000 objects. And our Charter Members now number over 59,700. As you know, we need to raise $250 million to build the Museum. I’m proud to tell you that thanks to the support of people like you we’ve made great progress, but we still have a way to go if we are to open our doors in a few short years! Thanks for all that you have done to support the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture. I look forward to sharing our continued progress in the months to come.

Sincerely, Signature Lonnie G. Bunch Director
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Can Skylar and Dominic count on you?


                          No Kid Hungry
“When am I going to get some more food?”That’s what Skylar and Dominic’s mom assumed her kids would be thinking about at school — instead of focusing on school work. That’s because there isn’t always enough food at home to feed them every day.Skylar and Dominic live with their mom and dad in a rural town outside Little Rock, Arkansas. Their father works 65 hours a week and their mom works nights to cover their bills and mortgage. Despite working so hard, their food budget is stretched very thin.

Can you imagine working more than full time and not being able to provide the basic necessities like food for your children? Or being the kid who worries when he’ll have his next meal?

This is the reality for too many kids across the country. And that’s why we need your help.

Will you join now to ensure that we can sustain and expand meals programs that help feed kids like Sklyar and Dominic this year?

                                                   JOIN NOW to help feed kids

Team No Kid Hungry is now 500,000 strong thanks to people like you who have taken action in support of vulnerable kids. And we’re connecting more kids with food than ever before — kids like Skylar and Dominic.

Be part of the solution to ending childhood hunger — please join today. Thanks for all that you do to end childhood hunger with No Kid Hungry.

Sincerely,

Team No Kid Hungry

 
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The Countdown


By 

With 6 Weeks To Go, Obamacare Enrollment On Track

The latest enrollment numbers released today provide fresh evidence that Obamacare is working. Another 1.1 MILLION Americans selected private insurance plans through the state and federal marketplaces during the month of January alone, bringing the total number enrolled in private plans from October 1 through February 1 to 3.3 MILLION.

FebruaryEnrollment

“With two months left to go, Obamacare enrollment is on track to hand the White House a significant win over the law’s critics,” wrote National Journal.

Inside the numbers the news was even more good news. Up from 24 percent in December, 27 percent of those enrolled last month are in the key 18-34 age group that tend be healthier and who are needed to balance out older, sicker individuals. And the number of young people enrolled grew by 65 percent, which is higher than the 55 percent increase among all other age groups combined. Major youth enrollment activities, including this Saturday’s National Youth Enrollment Day, got going after these latest figures were tabulated, so the numbers should  continue to improve. The current youth enrollment numbers are almost exactly in line with the successful implementation of Massachusetts’ law and appear to already be high enough to avoid significant premium increases as a result of an unbalanced risk pool.

In addition to those selecting private plans, another 3.2 MILLION Americans were determined to be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP between October 1 and February 1. And an additional 3 MILLION or so young people are covered thanks to the law’s provision allowing them to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26.

Fresh data released by Gallup today also shows that the Affordable Care Act is working. The percentage of Americans without insurance continued to drop and actually reached a five-year low.

gallup uninsurance febCREDIT: Gallup

BOTTOM LINE: With 6 weeks remaining before the end of the open enrollment period, the Affordable Care Act is on track, millions have received coverage as a result, and millions more will select coverage in the weeks ahead.

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Food is scarce in the Philippines


CARE

A young girl after Typhoon Haiyan

Food is scarce in the Philippines. A typical dinner consists of white rice and cans of fish. But for a hungry child in the Philippines, this simple meal is a dream come true.

And it’s only possible with your support.

That’s right – your first monthly gift today will be matched when you become a Partner for Change. Your impact will double, providing twice the much-needed assistance to families in poverty. And your ongoing, steady support will help us wage the long-term battle against hunger and poverty all over the world.

You can help mothers and fathers build a livelihood that will enable them to become self-sufficient and provide for their children’s futures.

Your support can help provide families in the Philippines with shelter kits and tools, so they won’t have to sleep out in the open – or mosquito nets so they can be safe from malaria and other deadly diseases.

In places around the world, you can help the people who need it most. You can show families in poverty that they haven’t been forgotten. Together we can alleviate their suffering, protect their children from disease, and send their girls to school.

Your generosity makes an incredible difference. Thank you for everything you do on behalf of the people we serve.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH President and CEO, CARE

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