2.6.06 - Bush Budget Increases Some AIDS Program Funding

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation today welcomed the Bush Administration's efforts to provide targeted resources that would reduce gaps in access to HIV medications in the U.S., increase HIV awareness and testing efforts, and reverse recent reductions in funding for AIDS housing, but said the proposals fall far short of the vision outlined by the President in last Tuesday's State of the Union message. During the State of the Union, President Bush stated: "A hopeful society acts boldly to fight diseases like HIV/AIDS, which can be prevented, and treated, and defeated," and called for initiatives that would bring us "...closer to the day when there are no new infections in America." Unfortunately, the budget unveiled today fails to provide the necessary resources to match that rhetoric.

"While the President's targeted funding initiatives are welcomed, they are insufficient given the more than one million Americans living with HIV/AIDS today," said Mark Cloutier, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "The flat or reduced funding levels provided over the last five years for the Ryan White CARE Act combined with both rising caseloads and medical inflation have resulted in reduced access to care throughout the country. This budget does not make up for those significant shortfalls."

Indeed, this year--similar to the Bush Administration budgets for the five previous years--the need for increases in funding to HIV medical care and supportive services largely went unanswered. Other than $70 million for states that have waiting lists for their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), the budget proposes to fund the CARE Act medical and supportive services essential to access and adherence to AIDS medicines at the levels of last fiscal year, which were actually cut during the Congressional rescission process. At the end of this year's appropriations process, Congress cut all non-military discretionary spending by 1%, resulting in cutbacks to key HIV/AIDS programs, including the Ryan White CARE Act.

"Cuts to the CARE Act over the last five years through the rescissions process have gone largely unnoticed by the media but have had real consequences for the health of people who lost their access to medical care, HIV-related medications, and other essential services," said Fred Dillon, the AIDS Foundation's policy director. "We call on Congress to reverse its current course and lead the fight against HIV/AIDS by increasing funding for all sections of the CARE Act."

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation expressed disappointment that no new federal resources would be available for California's ADAP. It is estimated that over 150,000 Californians are infected with HIV, an increase of 40% since 1998. As a result of this ongoing growth, the state expects an additional 1,600 individuals to access ADAP in the coming year, but none of the new federal resources will be available to California and other states that do not have waiting lists.

"We share the Administration's desire to eliminate waiting lists for AIDS medications wherever they exist, but we are disappointed that California and most other states will not receive additional funding to provide drugs to the growing number of people who need these life-saving treatments," said Cloutier.

The Bush budget also proposes additional cutbacks to Medicaid, which is the single largest payer of AIDS care in the country. Sadly, this comes on the heels of the successful passage of a Congressional budget resolution that cuts federal funding to Medicaid by $4.8 billion over the next five years. A non-partisan analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that this bill will increase the number of uninsured in America and reduce access to health care and treatment for the nation's most vulnerable people through increases in Medicaid premiums and co-payments.

"Medicaid provides care to 55% of people living with AIDS in the Unites States and additional cuts to this program will further reduce access to care and medications for thousands of Americans living with HIV," said Cloutier. "During the State of the Union, the President was right to acknowledge the exponential rise in HIV and AIDS in the African American community. Tragically, the cuts to Medicaid will undermine access to the treatment, medical care and supportive services critical to thousands of low-income, uninsured African Americans living with AIDS."

After several years of cutbacks, the President's budget includes a $14 million increase for the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program, bringing the total amount for the program to $300 million. Unfortunately, many other federal housing programs serving vulnerable Americans, including people living with HIV/AIDS, once again face cuts.

The President's budget proposal to provide HIV rapid testing to 3 million additional people is a laudable goal. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation also voiced support for the President's efforts to heighten HIV awareness among high-risk communities through local community and faith-based organizations.

"The U.S. will either invest additional resources into HIV prevention and testing efforts now or spend millions more in long-term health care costs for the same people after they are infected with HIV," said Ernest Hopkins, the Foundation's Director of Federal Affairs. "While we support testing initiatives designed to increase knowledge of one's HIV status, it must be remembered that testing is only a tool for diagnosis, education and access to treatment. For the low-income and uninsured, the federal government must guarantee access to the life-saving care and treatment required after an HIV diagnosis and this budget still falls short in that regard."