01.11.08 - San Francisco AIDS Foundation criticizes Governor’s budget

San Francisco, January 11, 2008 — The San Francisco AIDS Foundation expressed deep concern today about the effects of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget on Californians living with HIV/AIDS. The $11 million in cuts to HIV/AIDS programs will be especially harmful to low-income Californians who depend on public support for life-saving medication and quality medical care. These savings will not only complicate the disease’s challenges but will increase expenses the State will eventually have to pay to deal with rising rates of illness and HIV infection.

“Even if California is facing a budget crisis, it is irresponsible to make an across-the-board 10 percent cut,” said Mark Cloutier, the Foundation’s executive director. “The State must not take risks with the health of 150,000 Californians living with HIV or with the lives of so many others at risk of infection.”

The current budget includes drastic cuts to a number of critical HIV/AIDS programs.

• A $7 million reduction to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) would eliminate from the formulary several classes of drugs that manage the side effects of other medications. (The proposed cut does not include antiretrovirals or drugs which treat opportunistic infections.)
• Another $3.6 million cut will cripple already under-funded local programs including HIV education and prevention, counseling and testing, as well as HIV housing and home/community-based care.
• A 10 percent reduction in Medi-Cal will reduce provider reimbursement rates and eliminate several Medi-Cal benefits critical to people living with HIV, including optometry, podiatry, psychology, and adult dental care.

“We must stand up for people living with HIV,” said Courtney Mulhern-Pearson, science and public policy analyst at the AIDS Foundation. “If the State takes away medications necessary to keep HIV-positive individuals healthy while on antiretrovirals, and reduces reimbursements to their health care providers, many low-income individuals living with HIV will face new illnesses and have no choice but to turn to hospital emergency rooms. The governor is cutting our ounce of prevention. Later we’ll have to pay for pounds of cure.”

“These are simply short-sighted cuts, which come as a surprise from a leader with a strong record of support for HIV/AIDS services,” said Cloutier. “Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget will reverse the progress we’ve made towards dealing with the endemic we now face. These cuts will save money this year, only to create greater future costs from new HIV infections that could have been prevented.”

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation will work with elected legislators, other advocates, and the Governor’s office to provide a State budget that preserves life saving HIV/AIDS services even in a time of dwindling State revenue.