Kaiser Family Foundation Capitol Hill Briefing Series on HIV/AIDS

It has been more than two decades since beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since that time, over 60 million people worldwide have become infected, including more than 20 million who have already died. In the U.S., nearly half a million Americans have already died and almost one million more are currently estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS. The multiple threats posed by the epidemic have led to both domestic and global responses that have produced some significant progress. However, the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to present serious public policy challenges to lawmakers at all levels of government, as well as community members, advocates, people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, and others.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent philanthropy focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation today, has conducted a Capitol Hill Briefing Series and developed materials designed to provide policymakers with up-to-date information on the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to allow for an interchange of ideas with experts in the field. The Briefing Series is a bi-partisan effort. Topics to date have included:

The State of the Epidemic. What has been the course of the epidemic? Where is it going? What has been the Federal response to date? (April 3, 2000)

Research. What are the latest advances in AIDS research? Are new treatments on the way? What progress have we made in the search for an AIDS vaccine? (June 2, 2000)

Financing HIV/AIDS Care. How do the 800,000 to 900,000 Americans living with HIV get their insurance coverage? What role does private insurance play? What role do Medicaid and Medicare play? And how does the Ryan White CARE Act fill the holes in this insurance safety net? (October 27, 2000).

Women and HIV/AIDS. This briefing examines the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on women, the challenges facing health care providers in serving women with HIV/AIDS, and highlights the experiences of a woman living with HIV/AIDS. (May 2, 2001).

Latinos and HIV/AIDS in the United States. Latinos in the United States have been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They account for a greater proportion of new HIV infections and AIDS cases than their representation in the U.S. population overall. The Kaiser Family Foundation has conducted two Capitol Hill briefings on the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Latinos in the U.S. March 2002 and July 2003.

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