This Thursday afternoon, November 29, there will a community meeting on proposed state laws regarding mandatory managed care for people with HIV/AIDS. Hosted by Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, New York AIDS Coalition, Gay Men's Health Crisis and Housing Works, this is an easy way to get informed.
Are mainstream HMOs ready to provide HIV care? What will happen to Medicaid beneficiaries and community service providers? Should it be mandatory or should managed care be optional? These complex issues will all be addressed. To attend, email rhouse@fpwa.org. See Housing Work's abstract below for more info.
Thursday, November 29th
2:30 pm to 5 pm
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
Laura Parsons Pratt Conference Center-Room A
281 Park Avenue South (SE corner of PAS & 22nd St.)
Attend community meeting Thursday to discuss implications of mandatory enrollment in managed care for PLWHA
A decade ago, State and City officials tried to force Medicaid beneficiaries into substandard Medicaid-HMOs that weren't ready or willing to provide quality care for New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS. Now the Spitzer administration, which is smarter on health care than the previous administration (though still potentially problematic on hot-button AIDS issues...) is studying if ir should recommend mandatory enrollment in managed care for people with HIV/AIDS during coming legislative sessions. A great way to get informed about this sure-to-be hot-button political and health care issue is to attend a special community meeting hosted by Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), New York AIDS Coalition (NYAC), Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), Housing Works, along with HIV/AIDS advocates:
Thursday, November 29
2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
Laura Parsons Pratt Conference Center—Room A
281 Park Avenue South (Southeast corner of 22nd Street and Park Avenue South)
New York, NY
The proposed shift would bring complex conflicts of interests between Medicaid beneficiaries, community-based services providers, AIDS organizations ) and managed care networks. It's unclear if mainstream HMOs are ready to provide good HIV care. It's unclear if they are ready or willing to negotiate real-world contracts with community-based AIDS care providers. And it's unclear whether specialized AIDS HMOs like HIV Special Needs Plans (SNPs) (LINK http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/aids/resources/snps/index.htm) are big enough or strong enough to do the job.
Housing Works' position is clear. While managed care might make sense in some and many instances, it should never be mandatory. We'll be fighting to keep managed care optional, not mandatory, for beneficiaries living with HIV—that's their right under current law and it should stay that way.
But Thursday's public meeting should include a broad spectrum of perspectives from top-quality organizations like FPTW, NYAC, GMHC and the Legal AID Society. To attend R.S.V.P. to rhouse@fpwa.org.
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