--- title: Bernie Sanders Unveils New Plan to Tackle HIV/AIDS description: Sanders wants to make access to treatment easier canonical: https://time.com/4257708/bernie-sanders-unveils-hiv-aids-plan/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-14T16:31:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:52:44.719Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bernie Sanders Unveils Plan to Tackle HIV/AIDS og:description: His plan follows Hillary Clinton's misstep on Nancy Reagan's role in responding to the virus og:url: https://time.com/4257708/bernie-sanders-unveils-hiv-aids-plan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b1e7891f547b9dc/69888af5bc6cfc32003dc244/bernie-sanders3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a campaign rally at the Akron Civic Theatre, Monday, March 14, 2016, in Akron, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bernie Sanders Unveils Plan to Tackle HIV/AIDS twitter:description: His plan follows Hillary Clinton's misstep on Nancy Reagan's role in responding to the virus twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b1e7891f547b9dc/69888af5bc6cfc32003dc244/bernie-sanders3.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Unveils Plan to Tackle HIV/AIDS by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 14, 2016 4:31 PM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio, on March 14, 2016. Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio, on March 14, 2016.Tony Dejak—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 14, 2016 4:31 PM UTC Sen. Bernie Sanders has unveiled a new proposal to tackle [HIV and AIDS](https://berniesanders.com/issues/hiv-and-aids/) just days after lambasting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, for statements she made about Nancy Reagan’s response to the virus. The Vermont Senator has proposed establishing a $3 billion a year “prize fund” that would reward medical developers for creating new and innovative treatments that can be used to fight HIV and AIDS. The plan also calls for generic versions of any drug or treatment to be available as soon as the Food and Drug Administration approves it. A key component of Sanders’ campaign platform is expanding Medicare to cover all Americans—healthcare is a “right, not a privilege,” the candidate’s website says. Though overall transmission of the virus is down compared to its peak in the 1980s, it [remains prevalent among](http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/) certain groups including young men who have sex with men, especially young men of color. The change comes just days after Sanders rival Clinton praised the late Nancy Reagan’s work to combat the AIDS virus, despite the fact that the Reagan administration was slow to respond to the crisis. 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