HIV/AIDS
Log Cabin Republicans work hard to improve the nation's response to HIV/AIDS.
Log Cabin has five guiding principles on this important issue.
A. Innovation is the only real solution to the AIDS epidemic, so the government must safeguard an environment favorable to risk-taking.
The emergence of resistant strains of HIV should remind the entire health community that the virus will continue adapting to overcome treatment efforts. Every organization, government, private, and non-profit, must have the same goals-preventing further spread of the disease and discovering a cure to help those already afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Only the free market can accomplish these goals. The only actual solution must include:
- Preserving an atmosphere that encourages risk-taking.
- Providing a profit motive sufficient for the commitment of $800 million for drug development.
- Protecting intellectual property rights.
B. We will work tirelessly to make sure the United States' international AIDS initiative is successfully implemented.
The President's International AIDS Initiative must be adequately funded and it must be made to work. The lives of millions in Africa and the Caribbean depend on the success of this bold initiative. Furthermore, our national prestige and reputation as a caring people is at stake if we fail to fulfill our moral duty for action. Log Cabin will work hard with Congress to secure adequate funding. The method of implementation is just as important as funding. Log Cabin will monitor this effort to make sure it is quickly and successfully implemented; especially the treatment component.
C. Public complacency with the AIDS epidemic must be countered.
The HIV/AIDS drug cocktail has saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States and around the globe. After the U.S. death rate fell in the late 90's , many people mistakenly thought the disease was defeated. At best, the current situation can be called a standoff. As time progresses, the disease will evolve to counter the medical advances. Health care providers, including pharmaceutical companies, must continue innovating to develop even better treatment options. To make sure this happens, the government response to HIV/AIDS must recognize the importance of free market principles. Innovation and improvement won't happen from government alone, it depends on private industry. We will work with the Administration and Congressional leaders to pursue a strategy that relies on free market principles. Log Cabin also will push pharmaceutical companies to improve access to the life saving drugs they have developed.
D. Ryan White Care Act must be updated and better long-term solutions for ADAP are needed.
As the Ryan White re-authorization process begins, Log Cabin will have inside access to make sure necessary improvements are included in the legislation. ADAP also needs revision and improvement. Funding increases have been inadequate during the last two years. There also are distribution problems with this program. Federal ADAP funds are distributed based on the total number of AIDS patients, rather than the number of patients needing ADAP drugs. Thus poorer states, which have fewer insured patients and weaker Medicaid programs, have overburdened and inadequately funded ADAP programs. That has translated into waiting lists and cutbacks.
A more long-term solution to ADAP will depend on some form of Medicaid expansion, such as ETHA (Early Treatment for HIV/AIDS). We will continue working to gain more GOP lead sponsors in the house and senate for ETHA. We must find the best way to fund the added costs of ETHA. Log Cabin will work to find potential offsets or new revenue sources that can make a Medicaid expansion program possible. Log Cabin will work with Congress, the Administration, PACHA, our community supporters, and health care industry allies to find effective long-term solutions for ADAP through fiscally sound Medicaid expansion.
E. Efforts to allow drug importation must be stopped.
Strong support in Congress remains to allow for the importation of drugs from Canada and 21 other countries. Last year's Medicare overhaul left final authority on this issue with the FDA, but some in Congress want new legislation to allow drug importation; especially from Canada. Log Cabin will work against this dangerous proposal. It potentially threatens public health and it will destroy the incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs.
Congress established rigorous FDA approval and labeling requirements for any drug product distributed in this country. Most imported products will not meet these standards. There are also state laws and rules governing prescriptions and pharmacies. Such federal and state regulations ensure public confidence in the U.S. supply of medicine. The FDA also reports more counterfeit and incorrectly labeled drugs entering the United States.
Aside from safety concerns, drug importation will threaten future development of the most advanced medication. Studies estimate that pharmaceuticals spend $850 million on the development of a new medication. Such an investment must be rewarded in the marketplace with sufficient revenue to cover production and development costs. The Canadian government's reimbursement system, which negotiates prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers solely on the basis of cost-and does not consider therapeutic advantages-limits physicians' abilities to prescribe the right medicine to the right patient. The Canadian pricing model accounts only for manufacturing costs, not the research and development investment. U.S. pharmaceuticals can afford to sell medication in Canada at an artificially low price because they have a more natural pricing model in this country. However, if all drugs were sold under the Canadian pricing model, then pharmaceuticals would be unable to recoup the money they invested in research and development. The result would be long-term devastation for an industry that has helped make our health care system the best in the world. Drug importation would destroy the market that creates incentives for companies to continue developing life-saving drugs. The progress made battling HIV/AIDS will be jeopardized if Congress and the President allow the drug importation bill to become law. | 
