BERNIE’S BROKEN PROMISE: SANDERS MEETING WITH HIV/AIDS ADVOCATES CANCELLED

[ProudToBeLiberal]

HIV/AIDS advocates from across the U.S. expressed their frustration this week at the news that Presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders has again indefinitely postponed a highly anticipated early May meeting with HIV community leaders.

As a result of that outreach, 20 HIV/AIDS advocates representing organizations throughout the U.S. have a one-hour meeting with the Clinton campaign firmly scheduled for Thursday, May 12, in New York City. The now-cancelled 30-minute meeting with the Sanders campaign was slated for Tuesday, May 3, in Indianapolis. The commitments securing these meetings were due to ongoing pressure from the HIV/AIDS community. In the six weeks since the letters to the candidates were sent, promises followed by silence and delays have been the rule, not the exception. In their initial responses, the Clinton and Sanders campaigns each proposed meeting with HIV community leadership during the April 20 New York primary, but confirmations never materialized. Only the threat of demonstrations at the Clinton and Sanders headquarters in Brooklyn on April 19, the day before the NY primary, yielded both promised May meetings.

The Clinton meeting has been confirmed for several weeks, but the Sanders meeting remains an elusive, moving target. On April 15, the Sanders campaign committed to meeting with 20 HIV leaders during “the first week of May” on a date and location to be decided later. Not until April 29, with only four days’ notice, did Sanders representatives set a 30-minute meeting to take place in Indianapolis on the morning of the May 3rd Indiana primary. Attendees purchased expensive, last-minute airfares, only to be informed two days later, on April 30, that the May 3 meeting was cancelled. Despite another promise to “reschedule” as soon as possible, thus far the Sanders campaign has not proposed a new date, time, or city.

These delays and failures to make good on previous commitments by the Sanders campaign are becoming a growing concern for the 70 HIV/AIDS advocates who signed the mid-March letters to candidates. This sizeable national coalition of LGBT and HIV/AIDS activists and organizations represent diverse, oft-marginalized communities, including many Sanders supporters who have already voted for or planned to vote for the Vermont Senator in a Democratic primary or caucus. Yet the group is unified in its disappointment, asserting that these ongoing broken promises are unacceptable and will not be taken lightly.

More at http://www.housingworks.org/news-press/detail/press-release-bernies-broken-promise-sanders-meeting-with-hiv-aids-advocate/

[wendylaroux]

1. lol

[Metric System]

2. How does this warrant an lol?

[wendylaroux]

8. broken records

sos,over and over and over.

[Lizzie Poppet]

14. Because it's more transparent ratfucking.

Making a scheduling problem look like some sort of lack of support is typically sleazy Camp Weathervane bullshit. I don't care if it's "politics as usual" in our fubar modern political system...it's still not okay for anyone with a goddamn conscience. This is precisely the sort of unprincipled, win-at-any-cost crap that needs to cease.

[Agschmid]

6. 0-7 leave.

[Iliyah]

3. Because they think it's funny which is unfortunate

[Armstead]

9. The outrage over scheduling issues -- I can guarantee Sanders cares a lot about AIDS

And I'm pretty sure if this fellow had not gone public with his impatience, something would have been scheduled without a lot of fuss and feathers.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/hiv-and-aids/
Working to Create an AIDS and HIV-Free Generation
Twitter Facebook Email Link
Today, one of the biggest problems in caring for the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV is the crisis of access to affordable drugs.

One of the great moral issues of our day is that people with HIV and AIDS are suffering and, in some cases, dying in America because they can’t afford to pay the outrageous prices being charged for the medicine they need to live.

It is indefensible that even with insurance and rebates, a person with HIV must spend thousands of dollars per year just on prescription drugs — often leaving them unable to afford decent housing or other necessities — all while profiteering companies continue to jack up the price of these treatments overnight, simply because they can.

Instead of focusing on public health and the public good, drug companies are focused on padding the pockets of their shareholders and top executives. That has got to change.

In the richest nation in the world, we must not tolerate a health care system that offers the best care to the rich, while leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. We must do everything possible to end the greed of the pharmaceutical companies and get people the medicine they need at a price they can afford.

THE PRIZE PLAN FOR HIV/AIDS
As president, Bernie will fight to reform the existing patent laws written by and for the pharmaceutical industry to boost their profits and which make medicine so expensive in the United States.

To lower costs for HIV/AIDS drugs everywhere, Bernie has a plan that would establish a multibillion-dollar prize fund to incentivize drug development. This prize fund would replace our country’s broken system that drives drug prices up through government-sanctioned monopolies.

Bernie’s plan would provide virtually universal access to lower-cost life-saving medicines for HIV/AIDS as soon as they are approved for sale.

Under Bernie’s plan, innovation would be rewarded annually from a Prize Fund for HIV/AIDS therapies. The amount of money in the Prize Fund for HIV/AIDS would be more than $3 billion per year.

The Prize Fund would reward medical researchers and developers of medicines based primarily upon the added therapeutic value a new treatment offers and the number of people it benefits. Instead of a system where the market is manipulated to keep out all competition, companies would be rewarded for their innovation with a cash prize for their medical innovations, rather than through the grant of a monopoly. Under Bernie’s plan, drugs would have generic competition immediately after FDA approval.

In other words, this plan would break the link between drug development and the rewards for medical research and development. In doing so, we will reward true innovation, eliminate the market incentive for copycat drugs and get all HIV/AIDS treatments to the people who need them at generic prices.

The Prize Fund proposal would also be much cheaper than the current system, reducing the costs of the drugs to employers, taxpayers and patients by billions of dollars per year.

Bernie would also direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies and reduce barriers to the importation of lower-cost drugs from Canada and other countries.

The United States is the only major country on earth that does not regulate prescription drug prices in some manner and the results have been an unmitigated disaster for patients and their families.

As president, Bernie will take on the pharmaceutical industry that has been ripping off the American people and fight for legislation to lower the cost of lifesaving drugs. And by fighting to overturn Citizens United, he will make it easier for members of Congress to address the concerns of their constituents, not their wealthiest campaign contributors.

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE
Bernie believes that health care is a right, not a privilege. To truly ensure every American has access to quality, affordable health care, Bernie is fighting for a Medicare-for-all, single payer system.

Until that happens, we must make sure insurance companies and providers are not discriminating against those with HIV/AIDS, including when it comes to drug coverage.

The Affordable Care Act was an important step forward on the road towards universal health care, and it has made some real advances—banning discrimination based on health status; eliminating bans on preexisting conditions; making health insurance affordable and accessible for millions who did not have it before. But we still have 29 million Americans without health insurance and millions more who are underinsured.

Those with HIV/AIDS or other chronic conditions should not have to fight with an insurance company in order to get the medication they need.

EXPANDING SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS AND AT RISK FOR HIV
Bernie will build on the implementation of President Obama’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy by significantly expanding access to mental health and substance use disorder services by protecting and expanding community health centers, which provide key behavioral health and substance abuse services to more than 1.3 million patients. We must also support access to mental health services at community mental health centers.

He will also fight to expand the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and loan repayments for health care providers, including mental health providers, in underserved communities. And he will work to ensure these critical health care professionals are appropriately compensated for their important work.

Substance use counselors are uniquely capable of providing HIV prevention services to a patient population that may be engaging in behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection. All substance abuse treatment centers should provide on-site HIV/AIDS testing. Today, fewer than half do.

Additionally, we must ensure that federal agencies, state and local health departments, and mental health agencies have the resources and training to provide screening and referral services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and who are at risk for HIV.

EXPANDING THE RYAN WHITE HIV/AIDS PROGRAM
Bernie will fight to expand the highly successful Ryan White HIV/AIDS program which provides HIV-related services for those who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources. It was unacceptable that at the height of the Wall Street crash, many states had long waiting lists for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Especially when so many people were losing their jobs and their life savings, people should not have had to wait for the life-saving treatment they needed.

EXPANDING SERVICES FOR ALL—PREVENTION AND TREATMENT BEYOND HEALTH CARE
In the year 2016, it is unacceptable that a person could be fired or denied housing in many states based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or health status. Bernie would push for legislation that would expand civil rights protections to all LGBT individuals and those living with HIV/AIDS.

We must ensure that health providers, social services, law enforcement, and all other entities have proper resources and training to handle the varying needs of the communities they serve. Schools must be giving students age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education and all Americans should have access to scientifically-accurate information regarding HIV infection.

Bernie would also expand, not cut, the Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) program that currently provides funding for housing assistance and related services for tens of thousands of low-income people living with HIV and their families.

EXPANDING THE PRESIDENT’S EMERGENCY PLAN FOR AIDS RELIEF (PEPFAR) AND ENDING THE AIDS EPIDEMIC
As president, Bernie will fight to end the AIDS epidemic by doubling the number of people on HIV treatment worldwide by 2020.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been an incredibly successful program, currently supporting antiretroviral treatment for more than 9.5 million people. But that is only a fraction of those worldwide who need treatment. More than 22 million people with HIV/AIDS do not have access to the medicine and support services they need. As president, Bernie will fight to expand PEPFAR funding so we can increase access to treatment worldwide.

STOPPING BAD TRADE AGREEMENTS LIKE THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP THAT WOULD SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE PRICES FOR HIV/AIDS DRUGS.
A major reason why Bernie is leading the fight against the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is because it would significantly increase prices for HIV/AIDS drugs for some of the most desperate people in the world.

At a time when prescription drug prices are skyrocketing, the TPP would make a bad situation even worse by granting new monopoly rights to big pharmaceutical companies to deny access to lower cost generic drugs to millions of people.

According to Oxfam, over 125,000 in Vietnam alone — more than half of HIV/AIDS patients living in that country — could lose access to the medication they need to survive. That is unacceptable.

Here in the U.S, we still have work to do until everyone knows their status and those who need it are on treatment. Every patient should have an HIV test as part of their annual wellness visit; far too many people with HIV do not know their status, so any steps we can take to get people into treatment and cut down the number of involuntary transmissions will be worth doing. The sooner we normalize an annual HIV test, the better. But a test is not enough—providers should work with patients to identify those at risk who may not know they are at high risk, especially women with potentially high-risk partners. Patients should learn about prophylaxis options or all other appropriate measures, and these visits should be fully covered by health insurance.

We all must work together so we can finally realize the goal of an AIDS-free generation.

[earthshine]

10. What a stupid and insulting thing to say.

You do not do your candidate proud.

[Iliyah]

11. Back at you.

[earthshine]

23. Aren't you the clever one?

I'd say you have some maturity issues.

[pmorlan1]

4. Gee Isn't It Funny

that this should happen right before the California Primary.

[frylock]

17. Shocking.

[vintx]

19. Dirty tricks and lies are all they have. nt

[Armstead]

5. Gosh he was focused on an important primary and had to postpone a meeting

This is like when he and Clinton were invited to tour public housing in the Bronx by a local councillor.

Clinton showed up first. "Bernie is awful. he doesn't care about public housing communities."

Lo and behold he shows up afterward....And subsequently gets an endorsement from the councilman who issued the invitation.

[Sheepshank]

20. He was also focused on a Primary whe he went off to Italy and....

.....when he went back to Vermont to lick some wounds.

[ViseGrip]

7. This happens many times during a campaign. Hillary was unable to reschedule

an event that meant a lot to a group too. This happens. No one is happy about it. Sometimes it gets rescheduled. Sometimes, it's just not possible. This op 'A BROKEN PROMISE' is absurd for sure.
Again, Bernie is the most honest, genuine, dependable official there ever was. Hillary's numbers in this area....not so much.

[dsc]

13. I understand that campaigns can make cancellations necessary but

those last minute airfares should be paid for by the campaign. And I would say the same thing if Hillary had wound up doing this.

[Vattel]

15. chuckle

[Goblinmonger]

16. Too bad Nancy Reagan died; she could have met with them.

Champion for AIDS support that she was and all.

[silvershadow]

21. They take great delight in something that probably has a mundane reason...in addition to

being something that is hardly laughable.

[DefenseLawyer]

18. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: "Bernie Sanders loves AIDS" n/t

[hrmjustin]

22. That is unfortunate. By the way housing works is a great organization.

Hopefully his staff can get another date.

[JI7]

24. this is nothing more than Scheduling issues, the same thing happened with Clinton for a long time

also.

both campaigns were having trouble with it. it has finally worked out for clinton and hopefully soon sanders will also.

but it's not as if he is refusing ot meet them.

[thucythucy]

25. This is a scheduling problem, no more, no less.

You should delete this OP. It really doesn't serve you well to be seen as cynically exploiting the issue of HIV/AIDS to score a dubious political point.

What I don't understand is why Clinton supporters still feel the need to post items like this, since we keep being told--again and again--that the primaries are all but over and Secretary Clinton has the nomination all sewn up.

What's the point, then, of posting questionable OPs that only serve to antagonize, rather than illuminate?

[CoffeeCat]

26. Wait! Two days ago the talking point was, "Bernie won't take their calls!!! ZOMG!!"

So, two days ago, DU was polluted with several OPs, suggesting that Bernie wouldn't even take calls from these HIV/AIDS activists. That's right! He saw their names on Caller ID and ignored them, as if they were telemarketers!

We know this because David Brock told us it's true!

But wait! Now we're hearing that horrible Bernie, "broke promises" and "cancelled meetings."

If Bernie had meetings set up, he had to have taken their calls.

So, all of the posts about this two days ago were manufactured lies. I'm sure two days from now, we'll discover that today's Brockian points are also lies.

OH the humanity!

[kstewart33]

27. What is Bernie's problem with HIV/AIDS? nt