Ryan White Funding Proposal Demonstrates Neglect of US' Growing AIDS Epidemic...(ess funding inequities. Before the updat...),Health

"Over one million Americans have HIV, yet less than half receive treatment, and over 250,000 people don't even know they have HIV," said Dr. Homayoon Khanlou, AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Chief of Medicine. "The modernized and reauthorized CARE Act passed by Congress and signed into law late last year dramatically increases the opportunities for people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the U.S. to obtain medical care and receive lifesaving antiretroviral drug treatments. Unfortunately, the proposed budget could result in decreased access to medical care and services in the very areas of the country that need it most-often rural areas that are facing rapidly increasing infection-rates."

Included in the proposed budget is a $19 million increase in funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)-the primary funding source to provide medications to low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS-at the expense of funding to states for essential medical care services needed to deliver treatment with a cut of $19.25 million to the Part B Base amount.

"The only winners in this budget are the pharmaceutical companies, which Congress just made $19 million richer," added Weinstein. "Increasing monies for medications while decreasing the funding necessary to ensure the deliver of that treatment is short-sighted. We as a nation will pay for this bad public health policy decision in increased HIV infections as well as an increase in the funds that will be needed to treat those individuals."

AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the US' largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 6
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