Governor's Budget Proposal Includes Full Funding for AIDS Drug Program

In a huge victory for people with HIV/AIDS, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed a $29.4 million increase for AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in his January budget proposal, despite a projected $8.1 billion state budget deficit for the upcoming 2005-06 budget year. ADAP, which provides HIV medications to some 30,000 low-income Californians, needs this additional funding to meet growing enrollment in the program and drug price increases. Without this funding, some clients would almost certainly have been denied access to life-prolonging medications. Based on the governor's budget proposal, the total cost of California's ADAP in 2005-06 will be $263.6 million.

"The ability of our low-income clients to access HIV medications through the state's ADAP is a matter of life and death," says Sue Gallego, Director of Client Services for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "But every year, ADAP clients have to worry about whether the Governor will agree to fully fund this crucial program. We responded with a huge sigh of relief on January 10 when Governor Schwarzenegger proposed to give ADAP the money it needs in the next budget year. For many ADAP clients, this is like another lease on life."

"The Governor's support for ADAP in this tough budget environment is compassionate and wise," says Dana Van Gorder, the AIDS Foundation's Director of State and Local Policy. "Governor Schwarzenegger definitely deserves praise, as does his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kim Belshé, a longtime supporter of the program. We also thank the thousands of ADAP clients and their supporters who attended rallies and wrote the Governor letting him know how critical ADAP is to managing HIV infection. It was that community groundswell that helped cement the Governor's commitment to this life-saving program."

Unfortunately, the Bush administration has failed to meet the rising cost of ADAP nationally and the responsibility to assure access to HIV medications has fallen to the states. "Few states have responded as heroically as California to the rising needs associated with this program," says Van Gorder. "Nationwide, nearly 600 people are on waiting lists to receive these life-saving medications. We are grateful for the consciousness that exists in Sacramento about the importance of this program."

The Governor's budget proposal will be debated by lawmakers over the next several months. Given the high level of support that exists for ADAP in the State Legislature, Van Gorder believes chances are remote that the Governor's ADAP proposal will not survive the budget process. "But believe me," he asserts, "we will be watching at every step."

The Governor's January proposal provided level funding for all other state HIV programs, which is also remarkable since cuts have been proposed to many other state programs. One area of concern for AIDS advocates is Medi-Cal (known as Medicaid nationally), which provides healthcare to low-income Californians, including many who are disabled with AIDS. The Governor has developed a variety of proposals to control Medi-Cal costs. The AIDS Foundation and other advocates are in the process of carefully analyzing those proposals to determine how they might impact people with AIDS before entering into what is likely to be a lengthy debate over the future of this essential program.