Wes Clark's Plan to Fight AIDS in America

AIDS is a human tragedy that has disproportionately affected minorities and the vulnerable in the United States. Despite great advances in treatment, there are still 40,000 new infections each year in America; only half of the estimated 900,000 people living with HIV are in care; and too many of those in care face waiting lists for life-saving drugs. As a result of President Bush's neglect, waiting lists for AIDS drugs have grown longer: 18 months ago only one state had a waiting list, while today 16 states do. Wes Clark will make the United States a leader in fighting AIDS domestically and globally and will use the leadership power of the presidency to de-stigmatize HIV, pursue a science-based approach, and mobilize affected communities to overcome denial or complacency about the domestic epidemic.

Wes Clark's plan to fight AIDS in America will:

1. Assure access to care and prevention services
2. Increase our commitment to finding better treatments, vaccines, and drugs to contain the epidemic

1. ASSURE ACCESS TO CARE AND PREVENTION SERVICES

One of the great tragedies of this epidemic is that literally hundreds of thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS are not able to access the treatments that could transform this infection from a death sentence to a chronic disease - either because they don't know their HIV status, are not in care, or the care programs that support them are under-resourced. Fundamental to the domestic response to HIV must be access to treatment for all with HIV.

• Assure universal access to health insurance for all Americans. Wes Clark's health care plan would guarantee access to health insurance for all people with HIV, thus reducing pressure on programs such as the Ryan White CARE Act. The plan places a strong emphasis on preventative services, which would include screening, testing and counseling for HIV for those at risk and on-going prevention services for positives and those at risk. It would also assure that plans would cover treatments in accordance with the latest public health guidelines for HIV treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections.

• Assure that current federal health care programs are able to meet the needs of people living with HIV. Wes Clark will defend the Medicaid entitlement and support giving the states the option to expand Medicaid to those living with HIV who are not yet disabled, thus addressing the "Catch-22" in the current Medicaid system that requires many people with HIV to become disabled before they can access the medicines that would have prevented disability in the first place. He will support a meaningful Medicare prescription drug benefit, recognizing how critical a real drug benefit is for people with HIV on Medicare. And Wes Clark will also advocate for appropriate funding levels in the Veterans Health Administration, which serves over 20,000 HIV-infected veterans.

• Support full funding for the Ryan White CARE Act. This program has played a critical role in filling in the gaps in the safety net for people with HIV. It must grow with the increased demand, reflected in consistent levels of new infections in the US and the success of new treatments in keeping those already in care alive longer.

• Support the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative to address the disproportionate impact of HIV in minority communities. HIV highlights the challenges of health disparities in the United States. We must continue to target prevention and services programs to reach those at risk and with HIV through culturally appropriate, community-based approaches.

• Support increased funding for prevention services and proven prevention methods. Our public health system must support those behavioral and health interventions that reduce HIV transmission. This is a wise investment; by decreasing the future prevention costs and by saving lives. This includes age-appropriate education about sex and drug use, and the availability of scientifically-proven interventions. Wes Clark will reverse President Bush's neglect of prevention programs and base future prevention efforts on science, not ideology.

2. INCREASE OUR COMMITMENT TO FINDING BETTER TREATMENTS, VACCINES, AND DRUGS TO CONTAIN THE EPIDEMIC

• Increased funding for HIV research at the NIH and CDC. While great strides have been made in finding treatments for HIV, a continued investment is needed in HIV-related biomedical research that assures a continuing stream in the pipeline of new, more effective, and simpler treatments for HIV - research that addresses both the domestic market and the need for simpler, less costly diagnostics and treatments in the global arena as well.

• Increased emphasis on prevention research. Expanding research towards the discovery of an effective vaccine and new drugs that improve prevention of transmission of HIV, like microbicides, is critical to addressing the U.S. and global epidemics. Behavioral health research that improves our understanding of the causes and prevention of risky behaviors will be supported and funded through a peer review process that is not subject to ideological review.