STEVE:

I got this email from a Hep C advocate I know.

Since you and I talked of Ken getting medical help from Veteran's Admin, due to him doing multiple tours of duty in Viet Nam, can you make head or tails of this?

Love,
Menolly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To: squeeky@p...
>Subject: HCV BILL IN ILLINOIS INCOMPLETE
>Subject: WHAT'S WRONG with this Bill, now before the Illinois
>Legislators and others like it in other states?
>TO: All Veterans & HCV Organizations
>
>CC: Illinois Senator Dan Cronin;
>Illinois Rep. Angelo "Skip" Saviano;
>U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald
>U.S. Senator Richard Durbin
>U.S. Rep. Danny Davis
>All Illinois State Senators & Representatives
>All U.S. Senators & Representatives
>
>From: Norm Seiff, Member, VA's National HCV Community Advisory Board;
>Asst. Coordinator, National HCV March on DC
>
>RE: BILL: 92_HB3267ham001
>
>PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE AND U.S. CONGRESSMEN/WOMEN IMMEDIATELY!
>
>The original bill was written to include these sentences. Section 25.
>Veterans' Affairs. On or before March 1,
>7 2002, the Director of Veterans' Affairs shall report to the
>8 Department of Public Health regarding efforts to educate,
>9 screen, and treat veterans who carry the hepatitis C virus.
>
>But the House amended it and took out any reference to veterans what so ever. In it's place they put testing of prisons, which is good, but, The State of Illinois and other States doesn't recognize Veterans.............Then why should the VA!
>
>In WA State the legislation originally stated that the VA was to be given as much say as the University of Washington Medical for distributed educational literature, but the VA rep Skip Drepps (Vets with Disabilities) was at the work sessions and declined,. said NOT to include the VA in the plan since all their education etc. came from the UW anyway.
>
>HepCAlert is having the same trouble with the VA. They will not allow HepCAlert to included in published support material anything that references Veterans are at higher risk than the general public.
>
>Why can't these bills call for testing of veterans? I think it is a >consorted effort by the VA to continue to downplay the seriousness of HCV among vets. What are we fighting for if we can't get legislation to recognize the seriousness of veteran infection rates?
>
>
>3,441,750 civilians of which 2,547,070 are Veterans with HCV
>Approximately 75% of reported people with Hepatitis C Are Veterans.
>
>1,410,750 are Vietnam War Vets.
>
>Thousands of Veterans will die this year because of Hepatitis C.
>
>450,000 veterans are expected to develop cirrhosis, of which 90,000 will develop cancer NOW!
>
>Most Veterans do not think they need to be tested.
>
>References:
>Most Americans with HCV
>Are Veterans.
>http://hcvets.com/index.html
>
>450,000 will be veterans
>http://hcvets.com/index.html
>
>Testimony of Gary A. Roselle, M. D. Program Director for Infectious
>Diseases Veterans Health Administration Department of Veterans
>Affairs Before the Subcommittee on Benefits Committee on Veterans'
>Affairs U.S. House of Representatives April 13, 2000
>http://hcvets.com/data/va_news/testimony_of_gary_a.htm
>
>HCVets.com Transmission Methods for HCV
>http://hcvets.com/data/transmission_methods/transmission.htm
>
>Veterans' Health Care: Observations on VA's Assessment of
>Hepatitis C Budgeting and Funding (25-APR-01, GAO-01-661T).
>http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?
>IPaddress=162.140.64.21&filename=d01661t.txt&directory=/diskb/wais/dat
>a/gao
>
>
>This is an excerpt from a current bill in IL. 92_HB3267
>http://www.legis.state.il.us/legisnet/legisnet92/hbgroups/hb/920HB3267
>.html AN ACT in relation to health.
>We are so appalled by this.
>
>We're getting the people to finally write what we need and it is being rejected.
>
>2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
>3 represented in the General Assembly
>The house has amended the act to exclude the follow.
>
>6 Section 25. Veterans' Affairs. On or before March 1,
>7 2002, the Director of Veterans' Affairs shall report to the
>8 Department of Public Health regarding efforts to educate,
>9 screen, and treat veterans who carry the hepatitis C virus.
>
>92_HB3267ham001
>This is the final copy and they did away with help for vets.
>http://www.legis.state.il.us/legisnet/legisnet92/hbgroups/hb/920HB3267
>ham001.html
>