Days of the Parade of Pride in New York City, community organizations, defenders of LGBTQIA+ health and elected officials met on Wednesday, June 25, in the AIDS memorial in Lower Manhattan to strongly reject a federal bill recently approved by the House of Representatives. The proposal, backed by President Donald Trump, would cut more than one billion dollars from Medicaid and eliminate coverage for gender statement medical care.
Under the ironic name of “great and beautiful law”, the project has been qualified by activists such as “an attack on our rights, our health and our lives.”
The demonstration was organized by Amida Care, the Health Plan for special medical needs in the state of New York, and had the support of key organizations in the fight against HIV and in defense of the LGBTQIA+communities, including Housing Works, Callen-Llorde, Translatinx Network, the Latin Commission on AIDS, New Pride Agenda, Sage, Sage Tomorrow and Apicha Community Health Center, among others.
During the concentration, the president and executive director of Amida Care, Doug Wirth, said:
“This bill is not about saving money, but of cruelty. It is about attacking people LGBTQIA+, especially trans people, black and Latin communities, immigrants, to people with HIV and low -income families. And let’s be clear: an attack against trans people is an attack against all LGBTQIA+people. No one is safe when someone is attacked.
Wirth also stressed the importance of Medicaid in HIV prevention and care, noting that this program covers 40 % of non -elderly adults with HIV and represents 45 % of the federal expenditure in medical care related to the disease.
“In Amida Care we see firsthand what happens when people have access to affirmative attention: they survive and prosper. We should invest in this success, not dismantle it,” he added.
If promulgated, the bill would also endanger the national response to HIV, at a time when many vulnerable communities continue to face structural barriers to medical care. The proposal would directly affect more than 300,000 homes throughout the country, including children, older people, young people who exceed the age of reception, homeless and veterans.
The participants called on citizens and state leaders to firmly oppose the proposed cuts and defend access to inclusive medical care, based on evidence and focused on human dignity.
The manifestation served as a powerful prelude to the pride parade, remembering that the celebration of pride is also resistance and that the struggle for health equity remains urgent.
