Early Treatment for HIV Act

The Early Treatment for HIV Act (or ETHA) (S. 833 and H.R. 1616) is a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate.

The stated purpose of the bill is "to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to permit States the option to provide Medicaid coverage for low-income individuals infected with HIV."

Previous versions of the bill

In the 110th Congress, ETHA (S. 860 was introduced in the U.S. Senate on March 13, 2007. The bill was sponsored by Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) with 38 cosponsors including Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Previous versions of the bill were introduced in the Republican-controlled 106th, 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses. In each case, the bill never made it out of committee.

References

• Full text of bill
• Human Rights Campaign's fact sheet on the bill