Multiple Real Housewives stars from across the country stepped away from their roles on Bravo’s mega-hit reality franchise to descend on Capitol Hill Wednesday, raising awareness about the thousands of Americans at risk of losing cost-free access to the HIV medications they rely on once state funding lapses.
Erika Jayne of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills; NeNe Leakes and Phaedra Parks of Atlanta; Melissa Gorga of New Jersey, Candiace Dillard Bassett of Potomac; Marysol Patton of Miami; and Luann de Lesseps of New York City all traveled to Washington as part of a campaign spotlighting the realities faced by Americans living with HIV.
The gathering, held at the Capitol, brought the reality stars together with lawmakers including Adelita Grijalva and Mazie Hirono, who mingled with attendees as discussions centered on HIV care and funding in the United States.
Dubbed “Housewives on the Hill,” the event underscored that 18 U.S. states, along with Washington, D.C., have already made significant cuts to drug assistance programs for people living with HIV and AIDS. An additional 12 states are now considering further reductions, according to a recent report from KFF. Federal funding for HIV programs has remained flat since 2014, forcing states to shoulder more of the burden. Now, rising health care costs and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies are driving expenses even higher, leaving many patients at risk of losing access to life-saving medications.
“When programs like ADAP are weakened, working-class people can’t access this treatment,” Patton said, according to a report from the event by The 19th.
The event — which juxtaposed the glamorous Housewives against suit-and-tie-clad lawmakers — was also attended by April McClain Delaney and Cory Booker. Jayne, Parks and Gorga spoke following an introduction by Tammy Baldwin, the first openly lesbian member of Congress.
The event was sponsored by MISTR, a telemedicine platform that provides online access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and long-term HIV care. The company was founded by Tristan Schukraft, who in 2024 purchased the iconic West Hollywood bar The Abbey, and is gay-owned and operated.
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