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Policy Analysis


The Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2026 Bets on a National Drug Contract. The Design Could Narrow Access.
Congress has introduced the most ambitious federal hepatitis C elimination bill in a generation — $9.8 billion, no cost-sharing, and a delivery investment long overdue. The procurement model at its center could undermine the access it promises.
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6 days ago8 min read


The Future of Prescription Drug Affordability Boards and Upper Payment Limits Is Cloudy
Prescription Drug Affordability Boards are operating in states across the country, but their primary tool — Upper Payment Limits — threatens pharmacies, Medicaid programs, and the patients they're supposed to help. The evidence is mounting that UPLs are the wrong solution to a real problem.

Ranier Simons
Jul 135 min read


A Referral Is Not a Strategy for Aging With HIV
More than half of people living with HIV in the U.S. are now 50 or older—a public health success that demands more than good referral networks. Building HIV-inclusive aging organizations means developing real capacity before someone ever needs to be sent somewhere else.

David “Jax” Kelly, JD, MPH, MBA
Jul 64 min read


A New Era in the 340B Conversation: What Senator Cassidy's New Reform Bill Means for Patients
A new Senate bill would require 340B hospitals to document where their savings go and, for the first time, mandate direct discounts for low-income patients at the pharmacy counter. Here's what the proposal contains and why the stakes are high for the communities 340B was built to serve.

Kalvin Pugh
Jun 295 min read


A Functional Cure for Hepatitis B Is Within Reach. Whether It Reaches Patients Is Not Yet Decided.
For the first time, a finite course of therapy has produced a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B in large-scale phase 3 trials, but the communities carrying the heaviest burden of this disease are also the least likely to be screened, diagnosed, or insured. Whether this milestone translates into population-level progress is a policy question, not a scientific one.
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Jun 225 min read


Pride, Policy, and the Mental Health of Our Communities in 2026
Nearly a year after shutting down the 988 Lifeline's LGBTQ+ youth specialized services, the administration says Press 3 will return by the end of 2026, restored under an executive order that refuses to recognize some of the young people it exists to serve. The research record shows what that costs: harm to mental health, disrupted HIV care engagement, and advocate burnout. This Pride, taking care of ourselves so we can take care of each other is a public health strategy.
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Jun 155 min read


Political Veto: How OMB's Grant Rule Puts EHE at Risk
A proposed OMB rule would let political appointees veto or cancel federal research grants, dismantling the peer-review system and targeting the disparate-impact analysis that maps where HIV concentrates and why. For people living with HIV, that research is the foundation of Ending the HIV Epidemic. The comment period closes July 13.
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Jun 85 min read


Ebola, TB, and the Cost of Walking Away from Global Health
On April 24, 2026, a nurse in Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) developed a fever. She died three days later. Her samples were tested locally and returned negative, because...
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Jun 17 min read


The Policy Stack: How SAMHSA, the White House, and Louisiana Are Rewriting Drug and Homelessness Response
On April 24, 2026, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a Dear Colleague letter that withdraws federal funding eligibility from fentanyl test strips, sterile...
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May 119 min read


The Recipe for Change: From Surviving Appointments to Changing Policy
For a long time, I thought advocacy meant surviving the next appointment. I thought it meant learning how to explain my pain better, how to prepare for another referral visit, how to justify why I...

Chelsea BreeAnn Hardesty
Apr 275 min read


Building Stronger Communities, Together: Reflections from Our Patient Affordability Roundtable
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on April 10, 2026, by Lupus Colorado and is republished here with permission. The Patient Affordability Roundtable discussed in this piece was...

Kristy Kibler
Apr 203 min read


The Story of Us: How Celebrity Voices Have Shaped HIV Advocacy for Four Decades
On April 1, Taylor Swift dropped a surprise music video for her song "Elizabeth Taylor," directing streaming royalties to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF). Two weeks earlier, on March 18,...
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Apr 135 min read


When Public Health Becomes Profit over Patients
Public health programs like 340B are designed with a clear and urgent purpose: to improve community health, expand access to care, and protect the most vulnerable among us. Whether it’s ensuring...

Kalvin Pugh
Apr 63 min read


The Quiet Pay Cut: Rising Health Insurance Costs Are Eroding Worker Compensation
Rising employer premiums averaging 9.5% erode wages, forcing workers to delay care.
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Mar 157 min read


CROI 2026: The Tools Are Here. The Infrastructure Is Not.
CROI 2026 showcased breakthroughs alongside funding crisis disrupting global and domestic HIV services.
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Mar 87 min read


ADAPs Work. Federal Policy Is Defunding Them on Accident.
ADAPs achieve 87% viral suppression but face funding crisis as multiple policies erode 340B rebates.
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Mar 16 min read


Warren and Hawley Want to Break Up Big Medicine
Break Up Big Medicine Act would force structural separation of insurers, PBMs, and pharmacies.
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Feb 228 min read


Third Wave of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Adds More Potential Peril
Medicare drug negotiation's third wave includes Biktarvy, raising HIV treatment access concerns.

Ranier Simons
Feb 155 min read


The Great American Recovery Needs More Than a Slogan
Administration expands OUD medication access while defunding SAMHSA and restricting harm reduction.
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Feb 86 min read


Congress Rejects HIV Cuts, But Flat Funding Won't End the Epidemic
FY2026 preserves HIV funding but level funding can't support long-acting therapeutics or growing needs.
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Feb 17 min read
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