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Date: Friday, December 1, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: HCFA Press Office (202) 690-6145

The HCFA initiative will use public information materials developed by HHS and released today by Assistant Secretary for Health Philip R. Lee, M.D. The materials are based on the results of landmark research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

That research indicated that treating HIV-positive women with AZT during pregnancy and childbirth and administering the drug to newborns for six weeks can reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child by 67 percent.

Following the NIH-supported findings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines last July calling on medical professionals to offer routine HIV counseling and voluntary testing to all pregnant women in the United States.

"The NIH research holds out great hope to HIV-positive women to protect their children. Our new initiative will help give women the power to put that science to work," said Vladeck.

HCFA selected the four states -- Delaware, Florida, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- because of their high percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries and high rates of HIV-infection among women of childbearing age. The projects will provide women with informational materials -- including videos, brochures, and posters -- regarding the benefits of voluntary HIV counseling and testing, and use of AZT. The materials released today were developed by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and will include a toll-free AIDS Treatment Information Service.

To ensure that Medicaid-eligible women will have complete access to HIV counseling and testing as well as AZT therapy, HCFA has sent letters to each state Medicaid director stressing the importance of these services. A HCFA survey of 11 states with the highest rates of HIV infection among women of childbearing age shows that all of the states questioned pay for these services.

Medicaid currently provides coverage to 9 million women of childbearing age. An estimated 32,000 of those women are believed to be HIV-positive. Approximately 7,000 HIV-positive women give birth in the U.S. each year; Medicaid covers about 3,000 of them and many of the remaining 4,000 would likely be eligible if they were to apply. In the absence of AZT therapy, about one in four infants born to HIV-positive women become infected. AZT therapy can potentially reduce that rate to one in 12.

"Medicaid covers nearly 90 percent of persons under age 18 who are infected with HIV," Vladeck noted. "HCFA is vitally interested in preventing HIV transmission in this most vulnerable group."

While highlighting the medical benefits of AZT therapy for HIV-positive pregnant women, HCFA recognizes that the decision of whether to undergo such therapy is personal and private, involving many factors that can only be considered by a woman with advice from her health care providers. The HCFA initiative stresses the rights and prerogatives of women to make these treatment decisions.

Other HCFA consumer information initiatives deal with flu shots and screening mammography for Medicare beneficiaries. These initiatives, and others under development, seek to inform and educate Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries of treatment options and preventive health care services.

Delaware: The Delaware Medicaid Agency, under the auspices of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, is conducting a comprehensive statewide effort to reach all women of childbearing age in Delaware with information about AZT therapy to reduce HIV transmission to their infants.

Because Delaware is a small state, and because of the involvement of a wide array of community partners, we expect to reach women not just in those places where they receive health care, but also in places women frequent on a daily basis in the community -- grocery stores, hairdressers, community groups and churches. The department's press office is working with local television and radio stations to air special 'health' segments, using the Health Care Financing Administration's materials, highlighting the results of the maternal AIDS (076) trial and directing women to the proper sources for additional information or services. Contact--Alexis Andrianopoulos, 302-577-4501.

Florida: The Florida Medicaid Program and State Health Office have identified several strategies to assist the target population in making an informed choice about the issue of AZT. These strategies include the use of print materials, educational video tapes and small group discussions. Program implementation will take place in a variety of settings, such as HIV counseling and testing centers, county public health units, HIV community-based organizations and the jail system.

Additional educational modalities include an informational mailing to appropriate Medicaid physicians and beneficiaries in the target area and a public information campaign to be launched before the program begins. The program will be implemented in a five-county area in central Florida. Participating organizations include the Healthy Start Coalition, an organization which works to improve pregnancy outcomes in high-risk women, and the Suncoast AIDS Network, an HIV/AIDS community-based organization which spans the target area. Contact--Jeanne Pruyn, 904-414-6249.

New Jersey: In New Jersey, Medicaid beneficiaries and providers will receive information about the benefits of HIV testing during pregnancy and about AZT therapy. The New Jersey Department of Health estimates that 125 HIV-infected babies are born each year to HIV-infected mothers.

The New Jersey Department of Human Services' Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services will mail information to welfare recipients through the county welfare agencies and provide information to Medicaid providers. Printed information about HIV and AZT therapy will be distributed to all Medicaid providers dealing with pregnant women. Local pharmacies and school-based programs also will be invited to join in the outreach campaign along with other branches of state government. Contact--Jacqueline Tencza/John McKeegan, 609-292-3703.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island will implement an informational campaign to inform providers, pregnant women and women who are of child-bearing age of the results of the NIH research. The project plan calls for the distribution of 076 materials to all of the state's health centers and to the HMOs participating in the state's 1115 demonstration project (known as the Rite Care Program).

The Rite Care program services approximately 75,000 individuals, of whom 25,000 are Medicaid-eligible women of child- bearing age. The plan also calls for the materials to be distributed in each of the Department of Human Service field offices and in the Department of Health administrative offices. Materials will be made available to all agencies that provide services to people with AIDS. Contact--Bill McQuade, 401-464-3363.