A leading group of HIV advocacy organizations announce the launch of a new website to serve as the go-to source for information, advocacy resources, and news on what health care reform (the Affordable Care Act) means for people living with HIV and their providers.

The website — HIVHealthReform.org — is intended to educate people living with HIV, as well as their medical workers and social service providers, on the benefits and challenges of health care reform for HIV-positive Americans. The website will also provide opportunities to share resources on health care reform implementation and advocacy.

HIVHealthReform.org is the collaborative product of AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Project Inform, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School/Treatment Access Expansion Project, the HIV Medicine Association and San Francisco AIDS Foundation. The project is supported by a grant from the MAC AIDS Fund.

“Though there’s been plenty of media focus on the Affordable Care Act, it’s been hard to find the facts about what it will really mean on the ground for  those living with HIV,” said John Peller, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s vice president of policy.

HIVHealthReform.org intends to fill that void by compiling the work of leading HIV health care reform advocates and reporting on new developments at the federal and state level.

“People with HIV stand to benefit tremendously from health reform and they also face unique challenges in the upcoming transition, and this website will help them learn more about it,” Peller said.  “The site aims to demystify health reform for people with HIV, as well as their medical and social services providers to better prepare them for the new landscape.”

The website also encourages discussion and action in local communities. As one example of how the website will share updates, Project Inform and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation have launched a California-specific blog (HIVHealthReform.org/California) that details various implementation efforts that are on-going in that state as they relate to people living with HIV.

HIVHealthReform.org will further serve as an advocacy resource for activists working to educate key decision makers — particularly those opposing efforts to reduce funding for Medicaid, Medicare or health reform — on the importance of national health reform to people living with HIV.

Visit HIVHealthReform.org and its blogs — HIVHealthReform.org/blog

and HIVHealthReform.org/California.

Follow us on Twitter — HIVHealthReform — and on Facebook (search ‘HIVHealthReform.org’).