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People with AIDS are supposed to pay taxes on
the viatical settlements and accelerated benefits
they receive. That may change under the new
Republican Congress.
The House Ways and Means Committee hear­
ing Jan. 19 on HR 8, the Senior Citizens Equity
Act, heard strong testimony from the insurance
industry, viatical companies, and HIV/AIDS orga­
nizations urging that accelerated benefits be made
tax exempt. The insurance industry parted com­
pany with the other groups on viatical settlements,
saying they should not receive favorable tax treat­
ment.
“For many people with AIDS and other serious
illnesses, the time of greatest financial need may be
when they first stop working, a time when their life
expectancy may be two or three years,” wrote
Mark Scherzer, in testimony submitted on behalf
of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York. “In
such circumstances, they of necessity turn to viatical
settlement companies.”
“It is our belief that wide availability of viatical
settlements is vital to avoiding destitution for many
of our clients,” said Scherzer. He pointed to action
taken to exempt these payments from taxation by
New York State and New York City. “We believe
the same exemption to be desirable in the federal
tax code.”
Chairman Bill Archer [R-Texas] issued an open­
ing statement supportive of tax exempt treatment
of both programs. The Republican members in
attendance all seemed generally supportive, with
the Democrats divided.
The bill is part of the “Contract with America”
which Republicans hope to push through Congress
in the first 100 days. While it seems likely that
positive language will come out of committee and
pass the House of Representatives, there is as yet
no clear picture of what may happen in the Senate.
Alexander Robinson, a principal lobbyist on
the ADA for the American Civil Liberties Union,
called Paras’ comments “beyond irresponsible. To
suggest that we need to back off of those kinds of
protections is ludicrous." Many others joined him
in expressing similar outrage.
Ansley responded with a Jan. 24 letter from his
attorney, Mickey Wheatley, to NGLTF co-chairs
Deborah Johnson-Rolon and Chris Collins, outlin­
ing his grounds for legal action.
The letter closed by stating terms of settlement
to avoid legal action. These included $20,000
compensation, a full-page ad in The Advocate
apologizing in “specific language to be agreed
upon in advance by the parties,” and that Paras "be
required to participate in at least 10 hours of
sensitivity training on people with AIDS and the
Americans with Disabilities Act.” The letter re­
quested a response by Feb. 3.
Paras’ comments
provoke legal action
Comments by Melinda Paras, executive direc­
tor of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in
the Jan. 24 issue of The Advocate have brought
strong criticism from AIDS advocates. Now they
bring the threat of a lawsuit from one of the people
Paras talked about—a man who worked with her at
San Francisco’s Shanti Project— Marc Ansley.
The article stated: “Paras posits that Ansley,
who has AIDS, was lax in his responsibilities at
Shanti because of his illness. ‘As much as I suppo. t
full application of the Americans with Disabilities
Act [which prohibits AIDS-based discrimination],’
she says, ‘in retrospect I would say that for finan­
cial directors it should be interpreted more nar­
rowly.* ”
The Prudential Rod Girtman REALTORS, Inc.
215 SE 102nd Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, OR 97216
(503) 256-1234
_____________
Findings of a study show that gay and bisexual
men in Chicago, San Francisco and Denver are
contracting HIV at a higher rate than a few years
ago.
Researchers involved in the Sexually Active
Men study, a long-term, federally funded survey of
sexually active gay and bisexual men in these three
cities, suggest there may be an upswing in unsafe
sex, a finding which correlates with other studies
that show that younger gay and bisexual men are
engaging in high levels of unsafe sex.
( 503 ) 230-0812
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CIRCLE HEALTHCARE CLINIC
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Brooke Winter, L.Ac.
Jan Corwin, DC
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Kip M. Hard, DC
Valerie M. Lyon, MS, LMT
Suzanne Scopes, ND
Elizabeth Carlson, DC, LMT
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Simone Koos-Cibbs, BS, LMT
316 NE 28th Street • Portland, Oregon 97232
I f Y ou C an t
G et A L oan F rom U s ,
You C an ’ t G et a L oan
The SAM study finds that 2.8 percent of the
men in the study became HIV-positive in a one-
year period. In Chicago the rate was 2.6 percent; in
Denver and San Francisco it was 3.1 percent. This
compared with pre-1993 rates of between l per­
cent and 1.5 percent.
The study also finds that condom breakage and
misuse are common; that drug and alcohol use can
lead to unsafe sex; and that being in a long-term
relationship is the biggest predictor for having
unsafe sex.
Local company
gets FDA nod
Compiled by Bob Roehr and Inga Sorensen
J • * I l\ *
lla n d f e a l l c o n u e n l l o n a l
a n d n o n c o n o e n llo n a llo a n s .
♦
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First Time Home Buyers Programs
Self-Employed Borrowers
Bankruptcies & Foreclosures
Complicated Borrowers
Investment Properties
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Manufactured Housing/Land
Credit Problems
Debt Consolidation
3% Down Programs
Pre-approvals for Purchase
W e ’n e y o u r f u lls e r u / c e m o r / y a y e c o m p a n y .
The Beaverton-based Epitope Inc. says the
Food and Drug Administration has approved the
company’s application to market its OraSure oral
specimen collection device for use in detecting
antibodies against the HIV-1 virus.
The OraSure device consists of an absorbent
pad mounted on a lollipop-style plastic stick. The
pad, which is treated with a salt solution to enhance
collection of antibodies in the oral cavity, is placed
between the lower gum and cheek for two minutes.
The collected oral fluid specimen is placed in a
sealed vial that contains a preservative solution.
Specimens are sent to clinical laboratories for
testing. Test results are reported to the medical
professional who is responsible for conveying
results to the patient.
OraSure is not intended for home use.
. I i l • I*
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Acupuncture «Chiropractic «Massage
Counseling «Naturopathic Medicine
Study shows unsafe sex
on the rise in three cities
Another Clinton letdown
President Bill Clinton has apparently done it
again.
The president has reportedly nixed his plans to
nominate gay philanthropist James C. Hormel, an
heir to the Hormel meats fortune, to become the
ambassador to Fiji. The decision was made in order
to avoid a showdown with Sen. Jesse Helms (R-
N.C.), the ultraconservative legislator who chairs
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
According to The Washington Post, Hormel,
who would have become the first openly gay U.S.
ambassador, was told by the Clinton administra­
tion in mid-December that his name would not be
submitted for consideration.
Not surprisingly, that decision has outraged
some gay and lesbian rights leaders, among them,
Carole Migden, a San Francisco city supervisor,
who says, “Once again, this underscores the spine­
less approach of the Clinton administration to the
gay and lesbian community.”
N o ra Isacso n
O
Tax breaks possible
for viatical settlements
I have chosen to take a more human approach as a Realtor.
I build my business on a referral basis and firmly believe
that the satisfaction of my client is far more important than
my own financial gain. I communicate clearly and openly,
and I'm always honest with my clients. I'll gladly climb a
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G a llto d a y fo r a f 1 i r e e
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Christine C. H all
Mortgage
Broker
C akaoc f m n r m m , I nc .