Woke Boston mayor hands out $500 haircut and MASSAGE vouchers to migrants despite city's budget plunging $50m in red

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is handing out $500 vouchers to migrants so they can enjoy haircuts, massages and other self-care benefits, despite the city's budget plunging nearly $50 million short.

Applicants who are 'low-income, isolated queer and trans migrants, asylum seekers and refugees' are prioritized for the 'wellness allowance.'

The initiative, called 'Boston Matters', was created by OUTnewcomers, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ migrants in Boston alongside the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement, Mass Daily News reported.

Applicants get $250 to $500 toward 'non-clinical care' completely funded by the city agency, which is run by the Democrat's administration.

They can participate in activities like meditation, yoga, peer support, creative healing, acupuncture and gym memberships, as detailed in the post.

It comes as the city faces a $48.4 million deficit and teachers are faced with possible staffing cuts due to a $53 million shortfall for Boston Public Schools, according to statistics for this fiscal year.

OUTnewcomers was founded by Sal Khan, a 'queer activist' and drag performer who is also the organization's executive director, according to the group's Facebook page.

Khan explained that he left his home country of Pakistan in 2019 'to seek freedom and safety in Massachusetts.'

During his time in the state, Khan said he's 'built a life by volunteering with local organizations that support homeless women, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigrant justice.'

But on May 7, 2024, the activist said he 'experienced a major relapse' when he was taken into custody for resisting arrest and trespassing

'Unfortunately, instead of receiving medical help, I was detained for the night at the MBTA transit police station and later on transferred to an I.C.E detention center in Plymouth, Massachusetts for 57 days where I faced further discrimination, mistreatment and dehumanization,' Khan detailed.

Not new:

https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2021/syndemic-infographic-2023.pdf)

The United States is expected to spend more than $26 billion annually on HIV. (https://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/facts-statistics-infographic)

(cdc-hiv-wad-2022-hiv-affects-everyone-medium4678.png)

The CDC estimates indicate about 20 percent of the U.S. population – approximately one in five people in the U.S. – had an STI on any given day in 2018, and STIs acquired that year will cost the American healthcare system nearly $16 billion in healthcare costs alone, (https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/prevalence-2020-at-a-glance.htm) which would project to approximately $20.7 billion by 2026 in the United States.

"STIs and their complications amount to about $16 billion annually in direct medical costs. HIV imposes the largest financial burden, costing $12.6 billion in direct medical costs, followed by HPV at $1.7 billion, chlamydia at $156.7 million, gonorrhea at $162.1 million, and syphilis at $39.9 million." (https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/STI-brief.pdf)

And based upon a lifetime from 2015 to 2020 (study published in 4-21) then NIH research stated:

"We estimated an average lifetime HIV-related medical cost for a person with HIV of $420,285 (2019 US$) discounted (3%) and $1,079,999 undiscounted for a median 3-year diagnosis delay and 3% base dropout rate. Our discounted cost estimate was $490,045 in our most favorable scenario and $326,411 in our least favorable scenario."

"Discounted costs are highlighted throughout because they represent economic costs that take into account time preferences of individuals and society and the opportunity cost of funds." The Lifetime Medical Cost Savings from Preventing HIV in the United States

And as reported Mar 27, 2023,

Medicaid is the largest source of insurance coverage for people with HIV in the United States, covering an estimated 40% of the nonelderly adults with HIV, compared to just 15% of the nonelderly adult population overall...Medicaid accounted for 45% of all federal HIV spending in FY221 and it is the largest source of public spending for HIV care in the U.S. In FY22, the federal government spent an estimated $13 billion on Medicaid services for people with HIV...Medicaid enrollment among people with HIV has grown over time (https://www.kff.org/hivaids/issue-brief/medicaid-and-people-with-hiv/)

Before the Affordable Care Act, most individuals living with HIV were ineligible for Medicaid unless they had very low incomes, or were deemed permanently disabled due to an AIDS diagnosis. Starting in 2014, under the Affordable Care Act, states can receive federal Medicaid payments to provide coverage for the lowest income adults in their states, without regard to disability, parental status, or most other categorical limitations. (https://www.medicaid.gov/about-us/program-history/medicaid-50th-anniversary/entry/47641)

Costs associated with engaging in sodomy also can include those for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) [which was] at more than $1,700 for 30 tablets (https://mosaicscience.com/story/hiv-prep-truvada-prevention-sti-std-lgbtqi-gay-condom-pride/).

The cost for PrEP medication was about 2,000 a month, and which "Most health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover." (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/hiv-aids/prep) Under the Affordable Care Act, PrEP must be free under almost all health insurance plans. (https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep/paying-for-prep/index.html) The rule says insurers must not charge copays, coinsurance or deductible payments for the quarterly clinic visits and lab tests required to maintain a PrEP prescription. (https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/prep-hiv-prevention-pill-must-now-totally-free-almost-insurance-plans-rcna1470)

For any Medicaid insured HIV-negative adult 18 years of age or older patients, lab testing and prescription medication costs are 100% covered. (https://www.louisianahealthhub.org/teleprep/)

In 2017, around 61,300 people were actively taking PrEP.

(https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/western-central-europe-north-america/usa) with the rate of PrEP users per 100,000 population in 2018 being 68. (https://aidsvu.org/local-data/united-states)

A few states have their own drug assistance programs that cover out-of-pocket expenses for PrEP. Some will also cover the costs of doctor visits and lab tests. Requirements to qualify for these programs differ by state. (https://www.talktomira.com/post/how-much-is-prep-how-to-get-it-for-free-truvana-descovy)

"Despite biomedical advances in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention with antiretroviral pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the burden of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) remains high [1]. MSM are a high‐priority risk group for PrEP use based on their behavioral and biological risk factors [2, 3]."

God made man and women distinctively different yet uniquely compatible and complementary, and only joined them together in marriage - as the Lord Jesus Himself specified (Mt. 19:4–6) - and Scripture only condemns homosexual relations wherever they are manifestly dealt with, by design and decree, precept and in principle.

And homosexual relations have been tragically primarily responsible for close to 80% of new HIV cases among men and approx. 750,000 (2025) American deaths , even though such is not even the decisive reason why homosexual relations are wrong.

Yet there is still room at the cross for all who will come to God in repentance and faith, and trust in the Divine Son of God sent by the Father, the risen Lord Jesus, to save them on His account, by His sinless shed blood, and thus be baptized and live for Him. Acts 10:36-47

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