“Leave 340B so I can continue to thrive”

We don’t turn anyone away from getting the health care they need, and right now we’re fighting to make sure we never have to. The funding that allows Evergreen and other community health centers across New York State to provide health care and supportive services to people who are underserved, including Black and Brown people, the LGBTQ+ community, and all people who otherwise couldn’t afford the quality care they need is proposed to be cut from the NYS budget next spring.

Most people have experienced some kind of challenges while trying to get the health care they need. Even those of us lucky to have health insurance sometimes come up against costs we just can’t afford while trying to take care of our health – even in the best of circumstances, co-pays, medications and specialized visits can quickly become unaffordable.

Now imagine that you’re living with a chronic illness like diabetes or HIV, and need life-saving medication and supportive services that you can’t afford. The safety net that keeps you afloat is 340B: a federal drug pricing program that allows health care providers to buy prescription drugs at a deep discount and redistribute the money saved to help as many financially vulnerable patients as possible.

340B doesn’t just help Evergreen make sure that every patient living with chronic illnesses can access life-saving medical care, whether they can afford it or not. The savings we get from 340B allow us to fund essential wrap-around services, like nutrition programs for people living with diabetes, harm reduction services for people who use drugs, mental health care, and so much more.

Simply telling someone to go to the doctor is not enough when they’re struggling with getting enough to eat, homelessness, lack of transportation, drug use or other big issues. 340B funding allows us to run our food pantry, provide patients with transportation to visits, offer care coordination, and even help patients with housing and legal advocacy. All of these services are essential for making sure that vulnerable patients have the bandwidth to prioritize their health.

If Governor Hochul moves forward with chopping 340B from the NYS budget, the impact on these programs and the people who rely on them will be devastating. Liza Pereira, who has used several 340B funded programs throughout the 24 years she’s been an Evergreen patient, says, “if these programs are taken away, the future looks grim. People are gonna be dying, people are gonna be out on the streets, people are gonna be hungry.”

Liza is a mother, a grandmother, and recently became a fiancé. She works at Evergreen as a Sexual Health Community Liaison, where she helps patients reduce risk and take care of their sexual health, and advocates for communities who have been historically underserved by the health care industry. As a member of some of these communities, Liza also knows first-hand how important the work she does with patients at Evergreen is. She used to struggle with drug addiction, and is a Latina woman who has been living with HIV for 28 years.

“I’ve been drug free for 24 years. I’ve been living with HIV for 28 years. And I feel amazing. This place [Evergreen], not only did they help me with the technical medical stuff and the navigation of systems, but as a person they’ve helped to open doors for me and build me up with their love and support,” Liza says.

Liza has been a patient at Evergreen since before it was called Evergreen, when a small group of volunteers created a clinic called AIDS Community Services to address the HIV and AIDS crisis. Over the years, Liza has received care for HIV, has been treated and cured of Hepatitis C, and has been a patient of the primary care, mental health, and reproductive health departments.

Evergreen’s 340B funds have also got Liza through some hard times: “the pharmacy delivers my meds and were able to come through for me when I had a lapse in insurance. Even though I had a lapse in insurance they made sure I didn’t have a lapse in taking my medications.”

340B funding was once even able to help Liza find a safe place to live. “About five years back, with a job, I was having trouble coming up with a security deposit. I went to the housing department and they were able to help me with a security deposit to make sure I was securing affordable, decent housing.”

Liza is one of countless people who depend on services funded by 340B. At the Leave 340B press conference, an event to raise awareness about the importance of leaving 340B in the New York State budget, she left us with a final thought:

“We’ve come a long way with HIV and AIDS. I have parents that both succumbed to the disease of HIV and AIDS. But I’m here 28 years later. So, I propose this question: if we take away the moneys that are necessary for Evergreen and other agencies to do what they need to do, where will I be 28 years from now? I’m trying to stay around til at least 80. But if you take away these services and I’m in need, or others like me are in need, and they can’t come to Evergreen or places like it, then where will we be?”

You can help us advocate for health care equity

Evergreen is leading a collaborative campaign with our region’s community health centers called “Leave 340B.” Our goal is to influence Albany decision makers to do the right thing and reverse the 340B carve-out.

If you want to support our continued efforts to provide health care to all who need it, please:

• follow @Leave340B on Instagram and Twitter and share the campaign with your friends and followers
• visit leave340b.org and tell us how 340B lets you be
• share your voice. Use #leave340B to share our social posts and spread the word. Help us ask   Hochul and other state lawmakers to protect our most underserved communities and repeal the 340B carve-out