You probably know by now that we're totally jazzed about health care reform. The insurance industry has been allowed to openly and legally discriminate against people with HIV and other chronic illnesses but that's coming to an end. The new Patient's Bill of Rights goes into effect on September 23, 2010, making health insurance fairer for every insured American, including those with HIV.

This is only the beginning of the march to health care equality. Allow us to tell you what you've won, America:

• No more coverage bans for sick kids: HIV rates are increasing among youth and particularly youth of color but insurance companies won't be able to deny them coverage under their parent's insurance plan just because they are sick.

• Your policy can't be unfairly canceled: Remember when you applied for your health insurance but forgot to disclose that you fractured your thumb in the eighth grade? Your plan could have canceled your policy for this omission. This disgusting insurance practice ends tomorrow.

• No lifetime limits on health care spending: A cap of $1 million for health care services might sound pretty generous, but not to someone who's been living with HIV/AIDS for 20 years. Right now, one-third of Americans have policies with lifetime caps - but not after tomorrow.

In addition, starting September 23, you'll have the right to appeal insurance company decisions, choose any doctor who is in your plan, get free access to prevention and wellness services, and more. Great stuff? Yup. And there's more to come between now and 2014, when the new law is fully implemented.

Additional Links:

• Learn more about the Patient's Bill of Rights
• Read the Families USA issue briefs
• VIDEO: Health Care Reform Hits Main Street

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) thanks the U.S. House of Representatives for passing historic health care reform legislation last night and the thousands of AIDS advocates in Illinois and across the country who urged this critical action. This landmark legislation will expand health care access for 32 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands with HIV. AFC applauds President Barack Obama for his leadership and his unrelenting dedication to health care expansion.

The health care reform bill includes many provisions that will help people with HIV access health care, including the expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults without children; subsidies to make affordable private insurance available to individuals and employees in small businesses; steps to make the Medicare drug benefit more affordable by ending the coverage gap; and requiring health insurance companies to sell plans to everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Health care reform will transform the fight against HIV, making possible long-term reductions in deaths and fewer infections.

Although one bill that makes up the health reform package is headed to President Obama’s desk for signature, the fight for comprehensive, affordable health coverage continues. The U.S. Senate considers final elements of the bill this week.