6 HIV experts resign from US HIV/AIDS council - Trumpcare doesn't care about HIV victims

6 experts who are in advisory positions within the HIV/AIDS council in the US have resigned from their positions, saying that Trump has no plan how to deal with HIV and doesn't care about people with HIV.

They cite the last straw as Trump's efforts to kill off Obamacare and replace it with Trumpcare. With only 40% of HIV+ US citizens presently able to access HIV meds, the consequences of Trumpcare will be dire for the HIV epidemic in the US.

Australian health is going in the opposite direction, with HIV meds free in both New South Wales and Victoria. It simply makes economic sense to get people on meds and stop the spread of the disease.

From their letter of resignation:

And we know who the biggest losers will be if states are given the option of eliminating essential health benefits or allowing insurers to charge people with HIV substantially more than others.

 It will be people—many of them people of color—across the South and in rural and underserved areas across the country, the regions and communities now at the epicenter of the U.S. HIV/AIDS epidemic.

 It will be young gay and bisexual men; it will be women of color; it will be transgender women; it will be low-income people.

 It will be people who become newly infected in an uncontrolled epidemic, new cases that could be prevented by appropriate care for those already living with the disease.

 While we are in agreement that the ACA needs to be strengthened to lower premiums, improve competition, and increase access to care, it makes no sense to dismiss gains made under the ACA just to score political points.

 Experts with real facts, grounded in science, must be in the room when healthcare policy decisions are made. Those decisions affect real people and real lives. If we do not ensure that U.S. leadership at the executive and legislative levels are informed by experience and expertise, real people will be hurt and some will even die.

 Because we do not believe the Trump Administration is listening to—or cares—about the communities we serve as members of PACHA, we have decided it is time to step down.

 We will be more effective from the outside, advocating for change and protesting policies that will hurt the health of the communities we serve and the country as a whole if this administration continues down the current path. Raw Story