At the Democratic National Convention (May 31-June 2) in San Francisco, AHF advocated for presidential candidates to commit to action on the homelessness and housing affordability crisis, ending the AIDS epidemic, and signing Medicare for All into law. These issues have wide-ranging consequences for our patients, both within the U.S. and on a global scale.
At the convention, we made sure to let candidates know that AIDS isn’t over. Since 1992, the number of HIV diagnoses has not declined and nearly half the people living with HIV aren’t in care. We need to promote comprehensive prevention such as safer sex promotion and condom use. It’s important that candidates running in 2020 commit to action on ending the AIDS epidemic once and for all.
The next president also needs to address the homelessness and housing affordability crisis gripping both our cities and vast swaths of rural America. In the HIV movement, we know that if a person living with HIV is safely housed, he or she will be more likely to stay in care and achieve viral suppression. We need to question policies that promote subsidies for expensive housing while penalizing development for low income affordable housing.
Healthcare is a human right that the next president needs to protect. The Medicare for All plan is the best solution that will enshrine in US law the right of every person living in the US to get access to quality health care. We hope the next president will endorse this proposal and sign it into law.