Thirty Years Of AIDS (Guest Opinion)

Thirty years ago, the first five cases of what is now known as the acquired immune deficiency syndrome were reported in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The amount of knowledge gained since then has been extraordinary, and the pace at which research findings have been translated into lifesaving treatments and tools of prevention is unprecedented, although much remains to be done with regard to delivering the fruits of this research to the people who need them most.

From NAPWA: The ADAP Watch: Why Can't We Find Funding?

May, 2011 is the month when the number of lower-income Americans wait-listed for ADAP drug assistance passed 8,000.   It is also the month when NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and NIAID Division of AIDS Director Carl Dieffenbach published an article setting out three objectives they believe will have to be part of any effective strategy to stop the spread of HIV:

Ryan's Unintended Consequences (Guest Opinion)

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., probably did not anticipate the kind of trouble his plan for privatizing Medicare would cause members of his own party. Ever since Democrats scored an upset in a New York state special congressional election that turned on the Republican candidates support for the Ryan plan, GOP presidential hopefuls and lawmakers have been stumbling around the negative reaction the”Path to Prosperity” "has drawn from many voters.

Conn. Insurer Cuts Premiums As Industry Prepares For New Rules

It turns out that pigs do fly. Last month, insurer Aetna received approval, from Connecticut regulators of its request to reduce premiums on individual policies by an average 10 percent, starting in September. Yes, you read that right: reduce the premium.   The decrease, which affects 15,000 consumers will save those policyholders $259 annually, on average.

Time to Strengthen our Commitment to AIDS Research

Thirty years ago this month, the first report of a lethal disease that appeared to be selectively stalking gay men appeared in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The disease was AIDS; its cause, unknown. But it quickly became clear that the disease didn't threaten only gay men -- hemophiliacs and intravenous drug users, among others, soon joined the list.