Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) recently spoke at a town hall meeting "hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the South Carolina HIV/AIDS care crisis task force" that focused on the impact of HIV/AIDS in the black community, WOLO.com reports. Clyburn related HIV/AIDS to the broader health care reform debate saying, "Health care could be the ruination of our economy and HIV/AIDS could very well be the ruination of health care. How is health care and the health care proposal Congress is looking at going to affect HIV/AIDS funding, treatment? I don't think we know that yet" (8/19). Clyburn added, "The 2010 appropriations bill has $2.3 billion in it for [the Ryan White CARE Act]. That represents a $54 million dollar increase." According to WLTX.com, in addition to talking about HIV funding, town hall attendees wanted to discuss health care reform, and "[p]re-existing conditions, like HIV/AIDS, were a big topic as well." Clyburn said, "The primary reason for health care reform is to get rid of discrimination of people with pre-existing conditions" (8/18).
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