Financial Tips for Living with HIV

Originally Published by Healthy Black Men

Most of us don’t think about insurance until we need it and don’t have it.

Malcolm “MJ”  Harris is Managing Director of The Hurston Group, a national full services financial brokerage firm and he wants you covered.

“My role as a financial services professional is to help my clients plan for their future in a way that addresses their goals and budget. This includes helping them select life insurance, health insurance, and disability income insurance. Another major part of my work is helping clients make sure that they have enough money to retire.”

According to Mr. Harris, most people are under-insured for death and disability because people don’t think they can afford it or their health status disqualifies them. But life insurance can be as low as $30 a month, and can help cover final expenses and debt so that your loved ones won’t be burdened upon your death.

Disability insurance can replace up to 100% of your income for 90 days or until you are age 65 in most cases. Some life insurance plans also allow for income pay out if you become disabled.

Medical advances now allow many of us living with HIV positive to expect a longer life span. Now insurance and other financial companies are beginning to provide financial products to people living with HIV so that we can have the same financial protections as everyone else. Here are two financial products I recommend to most people living with HIV:

1. Get Life Insurance:When we pass away, we don’t want to leave our loved ones in a difficult financial position because we didn’t properly plan for our future. I recommend that every black gay man have life insurance if they:

• Have any joint debt (such as being a co-signer on a loan).
• Plan to leave their assets (such as their home) to someone when they die. For a $200,000 home, it can be as much as $6,000 to transfer the property to another person.
• Have at least $10,000 in life insurance to cover the cost of your funeral and final expenses.

2. Open a Guaranteed Income Retirement Account:The most common two concerns that I hear from my clients living with HIV are: “will I have enough money to retire and continue to meet my health care costs?”  and “how can I make sure that I don’t run out of money after I retire?” We offer guaranteed income retire accounts, which address both of these concerns. These accounts:

• Provide a guaranteed monthly or yearly payment to the client from the day that you retire until death.
• Can continue paying out money to a spouse or loved one even after death.

These account options can be important for people living with HIV because they provide an income source and help cover healthcare costs.

Malcolm “MJ”  Harris is Managing Director of The Hurston Group, a national full services financial brokerage firm that specializes in providing estate planning, life insurance, health insurance, and retirement planning. His team is a national leader in providing Chronic and Positive Financial Planning, a no-cost service designed to help chronically ill clients (including those who are HIV-positive) secure life and health insurance and plan for retirement.  

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Get Tested

WHERE TO GET AN HIV TEST

You can ask your healthcare provider for an HIV test. In addition, you can get an HIV test in many other places such as at many medical clinics, substance abuse treatment programs, community health centers, hospitals, Title X Family Planning Clinics, and even some pharmacies, as well as at many community-based organizations, AIDS services organizations, and even mobile testing vans.

One of the easiest ways to find a convenient HIV testing site is to use the HIV Testing and Care Services Locator. Just type in your ZIP code and, within seconds, you will get a list of HIV testing sites near you—including those that offer freeHIV testing!

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For more information on this widget, please visit AIDS.gov.

Please contact contact@aids.gov with any comments, suggestions, or concerns.

You can also:

• Text your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948), and you will receive a text back with a testing site near you.
• Call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) to ask for free testing sites in your area.
• Contact your local health department.
• Get a home testing kit (the Home Access HIV-1 Test System or the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test) from a drugstore.

Check out our National HIV Testing Day page for information and resources you can use to help promote HIV testing in your community.

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21 Survival Tips for Winter

Originally published by Healthy Black Men

It’s officially January 2015 and much of the nation is experiencing a winter chill like no other. In some areas, we’re talking -10 to -20 degrees. Anything below zero is serious business for health reasons. Heed these 21 safety tips for your home, your car, and your body.

8 Tips to Winterize Your Home

1. Check and install weather stripping, insulation, and storm windows.
2. Insulate water lines that run along exterior walls.
3. Clean out gutters and repair roof leaks.
4. Check your heating systems.
5. Have your heating system serviced professionally to make sure that it is clean.
6. Inspect and clean fireplaces and chimneys.
7. Install a smoke detector; Test batteries monthly.
8. Have a safe alternate heating source and alternate fuels available.

Get Your Car Ready for the Cold Weather in 7 Steps

1. Service the radiator and maintain antifreeze level.
2. Keep an extra phone charger inside your vehicle.
3. Check tire tread or, if necessary, replace tires with all-weather or snow tires
4. Keep gas tank full to avoid ice in the tank.
5. Store a few energy bars in the glove box, just in case.
6. Use a wintertime formula in your windshield washer.
7. Create a winter emergency kit (e.g. compass, maps, flashlight, tire pump, etc.) for your car in case you become stranded.

6 Ways to Stay Safe & Healthy this Winter

1. Maintain a moderate exercise regimen during winter months to avoid weight gain.
2. Always be aware of the outside wind chill factor, dress accordingly.
3. Make sure you are up to date on all prescription medications.
4. Take time to stay hydrated; replace coffee with non-caffeinated tea.
5. If you feel depressed, call a friend, a national hotline or go see a professional counselor.
6. Always wear appropriate outdoor clothing; layers of light, warm clothing.

And as always for pet owners, be sure your pets are inside and hydrated. If you do have pets outside make sure they have a safe, dry place to retreat when temperatures dip and they always have fresh water available. Be sure to check on the very young and elderly and even single moms caring for young children. Emergencies can strike at any time. Be safe.

Partial content from this article provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Image courtesy of Monroe News/AP.

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Resolutions to Keep in 2015

Originally Published by Healthy Black Men

Out with the old and in with the new year! This new year gives us a chance to do the things we’ve always wanted and to undo those things we kind of messed up. So for 2015 we offer 21 suggestions for your resolution menu to definitely prioritize and keep. Even if you manage to sustain a few resolutions throughout the year, consider yourself a rock star!

WHEN IT COMES TO SEX…

1. Make it a priority to know your status for all sexually transmitted infections.
2. If you are in a committed relationship, be sure to talk about family planning and contraception. Avoid slip-ups.
3. If you are infected with a STI, any STI, be courageous and inform your sexual partner to reduce risk and increase trust.
4. Stop having random, anonymous, and/or casual sex. The potential consequence just isn’t worth it.
5. If you don’t like condoms, make this the year you use them, often and correctly.

WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR JOB…

1. Make this the year, you transition from the dead-end job you hate to a position you might love. Plan. Make it happen. You can do it.
2. Confidently ask for a raise. Be sure you deserve one, you know your value to the company, and can articulate it to your boss.
3. Take it serious. This may be your ‘in between’ job until a better option emerges but treat it and your colleagues serious. You never know.
4. Learn a new skill. Acquire more job-related knowledge. Build your work capacity and become more valuable in the process.
5. Seek out a workplace mentor and set a 12 month professional goal. Be intentional about your career growth and recruit a mentor to assist.

WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR FAMILY

1. Spend more time with your aging parents and grandparents more often throughout the year. Create memories. Diffuse old tensions.
2. Take a family holiday. Even a ‘stay cation’ can bring family closer together. You don’t need an airline ticket to make family memories.
3. Forgive those who trespassed against you. If that person was you, seek forgiveness. Move forward.
4. Parents tell your kids what they do to make you proud. Affirm their interests. Let them know you appreciate the good things they do.
5. Make sure the family legal business is in tact. Are wills, powers of attorney, medical wishes etc. known and up to date? Get to it.

Whatever your personal and/or professional goals for the new year; Make it better and brighter. After all, we get another chance to get it right in 2015.

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Need Health Insurance?

Originally published by Healthy Black Men

About 87% of people who selected health insurance plans through HealthCare.gov for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2015 were determined eligible for financial assistance to lower their monthly premiums, compared to 80% of enrollees who selected plans over a similar period last year. In addition, more than 4 million people in both the state and federal Marketplaces signed up for the first time or reenrolled in coverage for 2015 during the first month of open enrollment.

That includes more than 3.4 million people who selected a plan in the 37 states that are using the HealthCare.gov platform for 2015, and more than 600,000 consumers who selected plans in the 14 states that are operating their own Marketplace platform for 2015.

Open Enrollment in the Marketplace runs from Nov. 15, 2014, through Feb. 15, 2015.  Consumers should visit HealthCare.gov to review and compare health plan options. Consumers shopping for health insurance coverage should sign up by Jan. 15, 2015, in order to have coverage effective on Feb. 1, 2015. 

If consumers who were automatically reenrolled decide in the coming weeks that a better plan exists for their families, they can make that change at any time before the end of open enrollment on February 15.

Consumers can find local help at: Localhelp.healthcare.gov/. Or call the Federally-facilitated Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. TTY users should call 1-855- 889-4325. Translation services are available. The call is free.

HIV In the United States

FAST FACTS

• More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 7 (14%) are unaware of their infection.
• Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSMa), particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV.
• By race, blacks/African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV.

CDC estimates that 1,201,100 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 168,300 (14%) who are unaware of their infection1. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level— particularly among certain groups.

HIV Incidence (new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year2. Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. MSM continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.

HIV Diagnoses (new diagnoses, regardless of when infection occurred or stage of disease at diagnosis): In 2012, an estimated 47,989 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States. In that same year, an estimated 27,928 people were diagnosed with AIDS. Overall, an estimated 1,170,989 people in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS3.

Deaths: An estimated 13,834 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2011, and approximately 648,459 people in the United States with an AIDS diagnosis have overall3. The deaths of persons with an AIDS diagnosis can be due to any cause—that is, the death may or may not be related to AIDS.

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Reduce Your Risk

In the United States, HIV is mainly spread by having sex with someone who has HIV. There are several steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting HIV through sexual contact, and the more of these actions you take, the safer you can be. These actions include:

• Choose less risky sexual behaviors. Oral sex is much less risky than anal or vaginal sex. Anal sex is the highest-risk sexual activity for HIV transmission. If you are HIV-negative, insertive anal sex (“topping”) is less risky for getting HIV than receptive anal sex (“bottoming”). Remember: HIV can be sexually transmitted via blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), rectal fluid, and vaginal fluid. Sexual activities that do not involve the potential exchange of these bodily fluids (e.g. touching) carry no risk for getting HIV. For more details, see Sexual Practices and HIV Risk, below.

• Use condoms consistently and correctly. When used consistently and correctly, condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV. For more details, see Using Condoms, below.

• Reduce the number of people you have sex with. The number of sex partners you have affects your HIV risk. The more partners you have, the more likely you are to have a partner with HIV whose viral load is not suppressed or to have a sex partner with a sexually transmitted disease. Both of these factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission. Remember: one in six people living with HIV in the U.S. are unaware of their infection.

• Talk to your doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is taking HIV medicine daily to prevent HIV infection. PrEP should be considered if you are HIV-negative and in an ongoing sexual relationship with an HIV-positive partner. PrEP also should be considered if you are HIV-negative and have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or any anal sex (receptive or insertive) with a male partner without condoms in the past six months and are not in an exclusive relationship with a recently tested, HIV-negative partner. For more information, see our page on PrEP.

• Talk to your doctor right away (within 3 days) about post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if you have a possible exposure to HIV. An example of a possible exposure is if you have anal or vaginal sex without a condom with someone who is or may be HIV-positive, and you are HIV-negative and not taking PrEP. Your chance of exposure to HIV is lower if your HIV-positive partner is taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) consistently and correctly, especially if his/her viral load is undetectable. Starting PEP immediately and taking it daily for 4 weeks reduces your chance of getting HIV. For more information, see our page on PEP.

• Get tested and treated for other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and encourage your partners to do the same. If you are sexually active, get tested at least once a year. STDs can have long-term health consequences. They can also increase your chance of getting HIV or transmitting it to others. Find an STD testing site.

• If your partner is HIV-positive, encourage your partner to get and stay on treatment. ART reduces the amount of HIV virus (viral load) in blood and body fluids. If taken consistently and correctly, ART can keep people with HIV healthy for many years, and greatly reduce their chance of transmitting HIV to sex partners.

Of course, you can also reduce your risk of getting HIV by not having sex. If you aren't having sexual contact, you are 100% protected from getting HIV in that way. Alternatively, if you are having sex, you can reduce your risk if you and your partner have both been tested and know that you are both HIV-negative and you practice monogamy. Being monogamous means: 1) You are in a sexual relationship with only one person and 2) Both of you are having sex only with each other. However, monogamy won't protect you completely unless you know for sure that both you and your partner are not infected with HIV.

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