HR0812 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0812 LRB100 18783 MST 34019 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Over 1.2 million people living in the United States are infected with HIV, and one in eight is unaware of the infection; and

WHEREAS, Significant advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV have made it possible to reduce transmission rates, avoid over 862,000 premature deaths, gain over 27 million life-years, and gain $615 billion in economic value over the cost of HIV treatment in the United States alone; and

WHEREAS, A 2011 clinical study from the National Institutes of Health found that treating HIV-positive people with ART reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to HIV-negative sexual partners by 96% from the start of treatment; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has played a critical role in decreasing the number of uninsured, particularly for people living with HIV; and

WHEREAS, Viral load suppression saves state Medicaid programs an estimated $1 million per treated patient by preventing transmissions; and

WHEREAS, Viral load suppression not only improves individual health, but it all also reduces HIV transmission on a population level; and

WHEREAS, The HIV Health Improvement Affinity Group (HHIAG), a joint initiative between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, offers federal support for state-level efforts to improve rates of sustained viral load suppression among Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollees who are living with HIV; and

WHEREAS, States that participate in the HHIAG benefit from direct technical assistance to develop and implement a viral load suppression improvement plan and leverage best practices to improve state viral load suppression rates; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the critical importance that viral load suppression plays in improving health outcomes and reducing HIV transmission.