HIV Tennessee axed millions in HIV funds amid scrutiny from far-right provocateurs
NBC News, February 2, 2023
Tennessee’s recent decision to reject over $8 million in federal funds to combat HIV was motivated, at least in part, by right-wing provocateurs stoking anti-LGBTQ sentiment, according to four sources within the state Health Department. The move by Republican Gov. Bill Lee will hamstring, if not cripple, efforts to combat one of the country’s most poorly controlled epidemics of the virus, HIV advocates said.
NBC News, February 2, 2023
Tennessee’s recent decision to reject over $8 million in federal funds to combat HIV was motivated, at least in part, by right-wing provocateurs stoking anti-LGBTQ sentiment, according to four sources within the state Health Department. The move by Republican Gov. Bill Lee will hamstring, if not cripple, efforts to combat one of the country’s most poorly controlled epidemics of the virus, HIV advocates said.
'This will shut us down': HIV prevention clinics brace for Gilead reimbursement cuts
NBC News, July 2021
HIV prevention clinics are facing a fiscal crisis owing to the vagaries of an arcane federal drug pricing law, with a bare minimum of $100 million annually expected to drain from the nonprofits starting in 2022. This devastating loss of funds, which is expected to shut down some clinics, comes just as the federal government has ramped up spending in an effort to essentially end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
NBC News, July 2021
HIV prevention clinics are facing a fiscal crisis owing to the vagaries of an arcane federal drug pricing law, with a bare minimum of $100 million annually expected to drain from the nonprofits starting in 2022. This devastating loss of funds, which is expected to shut down some clinics, comes just as the federal government has ramped up spending in an effort to essentially end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
"Rick Scott Had Us On Lockdown"
How Florida Said No to $70 Million for HIV Crisis
The Guardian, September 2019
While the Republican senator Rick Scott was governor of Florida his administration presided over the effective blocking of $70 million in federal funds available for fighting the state’s HIV crisis. Coupled with the fact that Scott refused to expand Medicaid in Florida, this new revelation—the product of an extensive investigation—helps explain why the state’s HIV epidemic became almost peerlessly severe during Scott’s time in office.
How Florida Said No to $70 Million for HIV Crisis
The Guardian, September 2019
While the Republican senator Rick Scott was governor of Florida his administration presided over the effective blocking of $70 million in federal funds available for fighting the state’s HIV crisis. Coupled with the fact that Scott refused to expand Medicaid in Florida, this new revelation—the product of an extensive investigation—helps explain why the state’s HIV epidemic became almost peerlessly severe during Scott’s time in office.
A Breeding Ground for a Fatal Scourge: Nursing Homes
The New York Times, Sept. 2019
(Additional reporting byline)
Nearly 40 patients at Palm Gardens Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Brooklyn, have been infected with or carry C. auris, a germ so virulent and hard to eradicate that some facilities will not accept patients with it. Now, as they struggle to contain the pathogen, public health officials from cities, states and the federal government say that skilled nursing facilities like Palm Gardens are fueling its spread.
The New York Times, Sept. 2019
(Additional reporting byline)
Nearly 40 patients at Palm Gardens Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Brooklyn, have been infected with or carry C. auris, a germ so virulent and hard to eradicate that some facilities will not accept patients with it. Now, as they struggle to contain the pathogen, public health officials from cities, states and the federal government say that skilled nursing facilities like Palm Gardens are fueling its spread.
Is Kenneth Cole Shifting Blame for the Harvey Weinstein Charity Controversy?
At stake in amfAR’s civil war is the nonprofit’s quest to find a cure for HIV.
At stake in amfAR’s civil war is the nonprofit’s quest to find a cure for HIV.
POZ magazine, Jan. 21, 2018
Investigative report
They bent the rules for Harvey Weinstein, and now they’re paying the price.
AmfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research has long relied on the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul to supply celebrities, cachet and cash for its fundraising efforts. And now as the nonprofit faces a reckoning born from this dependence, the stakes are particularly high for its famous board chairman: the fashion magnate Kenneth Cole, who has carefully built his eponymous brand around his own image as a philanthropist.
AmfAR’s current existential crisis stems from the sale of a trio of auction lots that Weinstein curated for the HIV organization’s 2015 Cannes Film Festival gala. The enduring firestorm surrounding the film producer’s alleged sexual misconduct has only put these auction transactions, and amfAR itself, under an even more intense microscope.
The convoluted series of financial arrangements that channeled the auction-lot proceeds in question—amfAR carried out these transactions at Weinstein’s insistence—have raised deep concerns among a faction of the nonprofit’s trustees and have given rise to a board-wide civil war. This internal battle has for the past four months played out in the public eye, with many HIV activists joining a call for Cole’s ouster. And as is invariably the case in disputes among the rich and powerful, a flock of high-powered lawyers has descended upon the scene.
Investigative report
They bent the rules for Harvey Weinstein, and now they’re paying the price.
AmfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research has long relied on the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul to supply celebrities, cachet and cash for its fundraising efforts. And now as the nonprofit faces a reckoning born from this dependence, the stakes are particularly high for its famous board chairman: the fashion magnate Kenneth Cole, who has carefully built his eponymous brand around his own image as a philanthropist.
AmfAR’s current existential crisis stems from the sale of a trio of auction lots that Weinstein curated for the HIV organization’s 2015 Cannes Film Festival gala. The enduring firestorm surrounding the film producer’s alleged sexual misconduct has only put these auction transactions, and amfAR itself, under an even more intense microscope.
The convoluted series of financial arrangements that channeled the auction-lot proceeds in question—amfAR carried out these transactions at Weinstein’s insistence—have raised deep concerns among a faction of the nonprofit’s trustees and have given rise to a board-wide civil war. This internal battle has for the past four months played out in the public eye, with many HIV activists joining a call for Cole’s ouster. And as is invariably the case in disputes among the rich and powerful, a flock of high-powered lawyers has descended upon the scene.