AIDS Healthcare Foundation

California Condom Bill Veto Has Costly Consequences, AHF Warns

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
LGBTQ+, AIDS, Health, State, Local, Women, Healthcare Reform, Men, Infectious Diseases, Generation Z, Public Policy, Government, Consumer, Reproductive rights, Student, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AHF, HIV, Pregnancy, Ivan Menjivar, Generation, Condom, STI, Housing, Birth control

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) sharply criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for vetoing SB 541 (Menjivar, D-Burbank), a bill that would require public schools to provide free condoms to students and prohibit retailers from refusing to sell condoms to youth.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) sharply criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for vetoing SB 541 (Menjivar, D-Burbank), a bill that would require public schools to provide free condoms to students and prohibit retailers from refusing to sell condoms to youth.
  • Newsom claimed the bill was too costly given the state’s $30 billion deficit.
  • “When purchased in bulk, as the state the size of California certainly would do, condoms cost just pennies apiece,” said Whitney Engeran-Cordova, Vice President of AHF’s Public Health Division.
  • To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org , find us on Facebook , follow us on Instagram , Twitter , and TikTok , and subscribe to our AHFter Hours podcast.

AHF Thanks Gov. Newsom for Signing PBM Reform Bill (SB 786, Portantino)

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Pharmaceutical, Philanthropy, State, Local, Infectious Diseases, Healthcare Reform, Social Activism, Advocacy Group Opinion, Foundation, Communications, AIDS, Health, Public Policy, Government, PBM, Organization, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AHF, Safety, Legislation, California State Senate, Pharmacy, Senate

AIDS Healthcare Foundation ( AHF ) thanked California Governor Gavin Newsom for signing SB 786, a bill which will make it illegal for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to discriminate against 340B Drug Pricing Program participants.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation ( AHF ) thanked California Governor Gavin Newsom for signing SB 786, a bill which will make it illegal for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to discriminate against 340B Drug Pricing Program participants.
  • AHF also thanked Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank), who authored and successfully carried the bill.
  • SB 786 effectively stops pharmacy benefit managers from being able to pickpocket safety net providers,” said Michael Weinstein, founder and president of AHF.
  • “Reining in PBM abuse remains a nonpartisan issue which continues to pick up steam nationwide.

'Responsible Investors: Dump Gilead' Says AHF Ad

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Public Policy, Other Health, Other Policy Issues, Healthcare Reform, Advertising, Pharmaceutical, Social Activism, Communications, Philanthropy, Advocacy Group Opinion, Infectious Diseases, Government, Foundation, AIDS, Health, Patent, Multimedia, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AHF, Safety, HIV, San Francisco Chronicle, Patient, Pharmaceutical industry

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has launched a new advertisement in its ongoing campaign against Gilead Sciences’ incessant greed.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has launched a new advertisement in its ongoing campaign against Gilead Sciences’ incessant greed.
  • The full-page, full-color newspaper ad debuts this Sunday, October 8th, in the San Francisco Chronicle and New Jersey’s Daily Record and will run weekly through at least November.
  • AHF also has sent letters to financial institutions that manage socially responsible investment funds urging them to divest their portfolios of Gilead stock holdings.
  • “Gilead never has cared about patients, especially low-income, uninsured Americans.”
    AHF’s ad highlights several of Gilead's unsavory business practices, including patent manipulation and out-of-control price hikes.

AHF Praises Colombia's Stand for Accessible HIV Treatment

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 6, 2023
Infectious Diseases, LGBTQ+, Public Policy, Government, Biotechnology, AIDS, Pharmaceutical, Consumer, Health, Other Policy Issues, ViiV Healthcare, Pan American Health Organization, Lopinavir/ritonavir, Drug resistance, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AHF, Travel, HIV, Medicine, Laboratory, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott, Refugee, Pharmaceutical industry

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) supports and applauds the Colombian government’s decision to utilize a compulsory license to import cheaper generic versions of ViiV Healthcare’s HIV treatment dolutegravir.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) supports and applauds the Colombian government’s decision to utilize a compulsory license to import cheaper generic versions of ViiV Healthcare’s HIV treatment dolutegravir.
  • The country spends 50 times more on the brand-name drug than the Pan American Health Organization pays for a generic version.
  • AHF opened a clinic in Cúcuta, Colombia , in September 2018 at a critical border crossing with Venezuela to support people living with HIV among the thousands of refugees fleeing the country.
  • Without reliable access to antiretroviral therapy, Venezuelans living with HIV risk dying or developing drug resistance due to treatment interruptions in their home country.

AHF: Newly Approved Malaria Vaccine Is a Win for Global Health

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 5, 2023
AIDS, Public Policy, Government, Health, Healthcare Reform, Infectious Diseases, General Health, Pharmaceutical, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AHF, Death, Infection, Malaria, Global North and Global South, Malaria vaccine, WHO, Vaccine

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauds the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of a new malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, for preventing malaria, which disproportionately affects African children.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauds the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of a new malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, for preventing malaria, which disproportionately affects African children.
  • The affordable and easily deployable vaccine is a welcome step towards vaccinating our world, and Global North countries should help fund the vaccine for equitable distribution.
  • “Once deployed, the new vaccine will help prevent more than 600,000 annual deaths due to malaria, which affects children under age five in Africa most.
  • Now, we must all work together to deliver on the promise this vaccine offers – saving the millions of lives affected by malaria.”

J&J Patent Move Must be First of Many, says AHF

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Public Policy, Government, Pharmaceutical, General Health, Health, Healthcare Reform, Infectious Diseases, Advocacy Group Opinion, Vaccine, AHF, Pressure, Tuberculosis, Bedaquiline, U.N, HIV, Public, TB, United Nations General Assembly, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Multimedia, Attention, Hoarding, Death, AIDS, Patent, Patient, Johnson & Johnson, Pharmaceutical industry, Policy

View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231002590830/en/

Key Points: 
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231002590830/en/
    A mobile billboard in Manhattan with advocacy messages about tuberculosis.
  • The AIDS Healthcare Foundation created a video comparing the number of annual TB deaths in 2022 to the population of Manhattan - both are approximately 1.6 million.
  • Pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility outside shareholders’ profits and must do right by the world or continue facing pressure and negative press from the public.
  • Civil society will remain vigilant in holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for evergreening patents and demanding that they put people before profits.”
    An AHF delegation attended the U.N.

AHF Honors and Remembers Senator Dianne Feinstein

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Infectious Diseases, LGBTQ+, Public Policy, Government, Healthcare Reform, AIDS, White House, Federal Government, Health, Consumer, Burton–Judson Courts, AHF, IG, Death, Multimedia, HIV, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation ( AHF ) mourns the death of United States Senator Dianne Feinstein, an early champion in the human rights movement.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation ( AHF ) mourns the death of United States Senator Dianne Feinstein, an early champion in the human rights movement.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230929039427/en/
    United States Senator Dianne Feinstein cuts the ribbon on February 10, 1996, at the opening of Linn House, one of three AIDS hospices built and operated by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF).
  • To her immediate photo left is Zev Yaroslavsky, then Los Angeles County Supervisor (District 3), and on her photo right is Michael Weinstein, AHF cofounder and president.
  • (Photo: Business Wire)
    “Diane Feinstein was a stalwart supporter of AIDS funding in the US and across the world,” said Michael Weinstein, founder, and president of AHF.

Payback Time! Community Pharmacists Cheer Class Action Lawsuit Against PBMs to Recoup DIR Fees

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Cohen & Gresser, Aetna, Pharmacy, Capitol Hill, DIR, Caremark, Health, Medicare Part D, Human, Lawyer, Sale, Judgement, Medicare, PBM, Pharmacist, Community, AIDS, NCPA, CVS Caremark, CVS Health, Ridesharing, Practice of law, Health care

“Finally, community pharmacies have a chance to recover DIR fees that were unfairly taken.

Key Points: 
  • “Finally, community pharmacies have a chance to recover DIR fees that were unfairly taken.
  • That allows Caremark and the other PBMs to continue to treat pharmacies unfairly and illegally extract junk fees.
  • We’re thrilled that community pharmacists have a chance to recoup some of their money.”
    NCPA will be doing more than cheerleading for the lawsuit, said Hoey.
  • Community pharmacies are rooted in the communities where they are located and are among America’s most accessible health care providers.

AHF Opens State-of-the-Art HIV Healthcare Center on Capitol Hill

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
LGBTQ+, AIDS, Health, Consumer, Infectious Diseases, General Health, Pharmaceutical, DC Health Link, AHF, Public affairs, General counsel, HIV, Capitol Hill, Black, Patient, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Pennsylvania Avenue, Disease, Pharmaceutical industry

“Our treatment model helps eliminate barriers for those already in care, those who may not know their HIV status, and those living with HIV who may not currently be in care.”

Key Points: 
  • “Our treatment model helps eliminate barriers for those already in care, those who may not know their HIV status, and those living with HIV who may not currently be in care.”
    “Our Capitol Hill Healthcare Center has no waiting room, so patients immediately are escorted to treatment rooms and serviced from a centrally located provider workstation,” said Mike McVicker, AHF Regional Director, DC, Maryland, Virginia.
  • “The goal is to maximize efficiency using this patient-centered model to improve health outcomes and increase retention in care.”
    Currently, 11,904 District of Columbia residents (1.8% of the population) are living with HIV.
  • The disease disproportionately affects Black residents who make up about 44 percent of DC’s population but nearly three-quarters of HIV cases.
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.8 million individuals across 45 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe.

Disappointment and Hope after U.N. General Assembly Wraps, says AHF

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 22, 2023
General Health, Philanthropy, Infectious Diseases, Healthcare Reform, Public Policy, Other Policy Issues, Advocacy Group Opinion, Foundation, COVID-19, AIDS, Health, Government, Vaccine, AHF, Tuberculosis, Partnership, Optimism, Global health, HIV, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Public, TB, Communication, United Nations General Assembly, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Infection, Ford, Multimedia, Attention, Language, Death, Pandemic, UHC, Policy, PPPR, Disease, U.N, Pharmaceutical industry, Global North and Global South

The weeklong 78th U.N. General Assembly concluded today in New York City with the adoption of declarations on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR), tuberculosis (TB), and universal health coverage (UHC).

Key Points: 
  • The weeklong 78th U.N. General Assembly concluded today in New York City with the adoption of declarations on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR), tuberculosis (TB), and universal health coverage (UHC).
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230922430411/en/
    A mobile billboard in Manhattan with advocacy messages about tuberculosis.
  • The video was displayed on a mobile billboard that drove all week in close proximity to the U.N. building to catch the attention of U.N. General Assembly delegates.
  • Global health must not be viewed as a charity – it has to be funded in a spirit of partnership and mutual support.”