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|  |  Feds Approve AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Innovative Managed Care Plan as a 'Medicare Advantage' Plan (MA)Press Release September 27, 2005 In Response to the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), AHF, Operator of One of the Nation's First Medicaid Managed Care Plans for People With AIDS, Sought 'Medicare Advantage' Status for its 'Positive Health care Partners' to Ensure Continuity of Life-saving Care and Services for Its Eligible Clients. AHF's Program is the Only AIDS Plan Nationwide to Win Approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). LOS ANGELES, September 26, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to changes brought about by the recent Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the nation's largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care and operator of one of the first Medicaid managed care plans in the nation designed specifically for people with AIDS, has learned that is has been approved by federal officials to operate a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. The newly approved MA plan, Positive Healthcare Partners (PHP), will allow AHF to accommodate changes in the new law and ensure continuity of life-saving care and services -- including vitally important Part D prescription drug coverage -- to the Medicare population living with HIV. The designation, made late last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will also allow AHF to expand its target population for managed care in Los Angeles County to include enrollment and treatment of HIV positive individuals (who have not progressed to an AIDS diagnosis) as well. AHF, which serves thousands of patients regardless of their ability to pay at 14 healthcare centers in California and Florida (in addition to operating free AIDS treatment clinics in Africa, Central America and Asia), had applied for the Medicare Advantage plan status as a special needs plan (SNP) -- one of only a handful of applicants nationwide seeking such status as providers of care for beneficiaries with specific special needs. Positive Healthcare Partners is the only AIDS-specific special needs plan nationwide to be approved by the CMS for the Medicare Advantage program. "On behalf of all of the Positive Healthcare clients we serve here in Los Angeles County, and the dedicated and professional staff delivering their care, we are deeply honored that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved our application to become a Medicare Advantage plan," said Donna Stidham, AHF's Chief of Managed Care. "Today, HIV/AIDS is a chronic, but treatable, medical condition, and as funding streams for such medical care and treatment evolve, this new federal designation by CMS will allow us to offer continuity of care and services to our existing Positive Healthcare members if they so choose as well as bringing new, previously ineligible HIV positive individuals into the expert network of HIV medical care and anti-retroviral treatment." "As the only AIDS-specific special needs plan nationwide to be approved for and granted Medicare Advantage plan status, we are grateful to the Administration for this recognition," said Michael Weinstein, AHF's President. "We are also keenly aware of the importance of adapting to the changing needs and realities in the care and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS, and we appreciate the government's foresight in its desire to try and provide comprehensive medical care and prescription drug coverage to more and more people living with HIV/AIDS." In a September 23rd CMS press release on the announcement and roll out of prescription drug coverage by Medicare in California, CMS stated, "Today CMS notified plans that have met all of Medicare's standards and are approved to compete to provide Medicare prescription drug coverage," said CMS Administrator Mark McClellan M.D., Ph.D. He added, "All plans approved in California have met Medicare's requirements for providing access to medically necessary drugs, including formulary standards as well as standards for access to convenient retail pharmacies and to drugs in nursing homes." For added patient convenience, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (operator of Positive Healthcare Partners) has operated seven pharmacies on or near the sites of several of its healthcare center facilities (in addition to referring its healthcare center clients to general retail pharmacies). Beginning in mid-October, Medicare's website, www.medicare.gov, and its 24-hour toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), will also have specific information available to help beneficiaries find the drug coverage that suits their needs. Medicare beneficiaries in California can also get personalized, local assistance by calling their Health Insurance counseling & Advocacy Program at 800-434-0222. CONTACT: Ged Kenslea, Communications Director +1-323-860-5225, or mobile+1-323-791-5526, or Donna Stidham, Chief of Managed Care, +1-323-860-5325,or mobile +1-323-791-5526, both of AIDS Healthcare Foundation Web site: http://www.medicare.gov/
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