From: Neon@cup.portal.com
Subject: News From New York
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6740
Organization: unspecified
Date: Sat,  9 Jan 93 00:27:20 PST

                            NEWS FROM NEW YORK

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The following information, some of which is of immediate importance to New
Yorkers, may also be of benefit to others.
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Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield has gotten the approval of the State
Insurance Commissioner to raise rates averaging 20 percent but hitting
individual policy holders the hardest with increases of 60 percent.  Blue
Cross is the only insurer in New York who accepts everyone regardless of
one's health condition (open enrollment).  This is the only
option for those of us PWA's, and others with serious health problems,
who don't qualify for Medicaid.  It hits hardest those of us who are the
most vulnerable.

There had been negotiations between Albany and Blue Cross to come up with
some government money or monies from a the Medical Malpractice Fund.
Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature had two different plans to help
reduce the increase and stopped negotiating.  Therefore, no plan was
adopted.  It is estimated that as many as 250,000 policy holders will
have to drop their coverage  These, by and large, are the poorest and
most seriously ill state residents, PWA's, cancer patients and others who
are too sick to work, and are not yet totally impoverished so as to get
Medicaid.  About 500 dollars a month income and less than 1000 dollars in
assets are needed to qualify for Medicaid in New York.

Of course these people will still cost the State even more money for less
efficient and lower quality care by going to public hospital emergency
rooms and finally qualifying for Medicaid after becoming destitute.

The New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage, a coalition of voluntary
Health Organizations is urging public pressure in the form of telephone
calls to the following key players.  I would invite even out of staters
to call.  You may have loved ones in NY, and your State may be next!

In order of importance, call the first names on the list first if you
cannot call all of them.  Calling them in Albany, area code 518, is
probably more effective but if you are a NYS resident and cannot afford
long distance alternate phone numbers are listed.  Action by the State
Government must be taken before January 11 if the increase is not to be
permanent.  This is why phone calls (or Faxes) are needed.

Governor Mario Cuomo: Tel:  518-474-8390 (Albany) or 212-417-2100 (NYC)

                                  Fax: 212-417-4709

Senator Ralph Marino:  Albany 518-455-2800,  New York City: 212-417-5550

                       Long Island: 516-673-4550

Your State Senator and State Assemblyperson.

Don't know who that is?

Call the League of Women Voters.  NY City: 212-674-8484, Long Island:

516-365-8208, Westchester: 914-949-0507, Albany: 518-465-4162.

Senator Guy Vellela, Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee:

Albany: 518-455-3264, NY City: 212-792-7180, Westchester 914-969-2210.

Senator Michael Tully, Chair of the Senate Health Committee:

Albany: 518-455-2471 or Long Island: 516-484-7070

Ask everyone you know to call too!

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In other news gathered from ACT UP/NY and ACT UP/Boston sources:
(This is not yet an official position of ACT UP/NY)

Hoffman-La Roche, the maker of ddC and an experimental TAT gene inhibitor,
known as (RO 24-7429), is under fire by ACT UP concerning policies related
to these two drugs.

ddC was approved by the FDA on condition that the results of 2 more
clinical trials, proving the efficacy of ddC, be released in 3 years.
Apparently, ACT UP/NY sees no evidence that Hoffman-La Roche will comply.
I think the fear is that ddC may ultimately prove worthless (or worse) and
that the drug company will withhold this information and continue to sell
ddC at enormous profit.  ACT UP wants ddC to revert to an investigational
New Drug and be supplied to  all patients free of charge if they do not
release the results of a *Large Simple Trial* of ddC by the end of January.

In another matter concerning this drug company, both ACT UP/NY and ACT
UP/Boston are critical of the way development of the TAT inhibitor has been
handled.  According to this source:

"Identified in 1987 as active against HIV in the test tube, the Roche
anti-tat compound interferes with the tat gene which the virus needs to
reproduce.  After five years and 2.8 million dollars in government
subsidies there is still no data on the effect of the compound in humans.
During that time the company has started and stopped clinical development
while it attempted to sell the drug, staggered through a series of small
trials, rejected the help of NIH and placed patients at risk by taking
months to analyze their data."

ACT UP/NY is probably going to demand that Roche:  "Present within thirty
days a  plan to correct the deficiencies in the tat program which include
incompetent team leadership and a failing clinical development program.  If
unable to do so return the patent to the government so this anti-tat
compound can be sped into development."

ACT UP is also critical of the way information about their experimental
protease inhibitor is being withheld and their overcharging for an enzyme
called TAC which is used in a PCR diagnostic blood test and may result in
"Hampering lifesaving research on AIDS and other diseases."

Information submitted by:

Tony Bruder PWA
neon@cup.portal.com