For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
January 10, 2003
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES REACTION TO GOV. GRAY DAVIS’ PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003-04
Daniel C. Montoya, APLA, Director of Government Affairs:
The good news is that most AIDS programs were spared the kinds of devastating cuts that healthcare took in general.
The bad news is that the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) is in trouble. The proposed budget calls for an $8 million increase in ADAP funding, but that won’t be enough to meet demand. For the first time in California, people living with HIV/AIDS may not be able to afford their life saving drugs.
ADAP supplies HIV/AIDS drugs to low-income individuals. The Governor’s budget calls for hefty new co-payments for prescriptions. People living at 200 percent of the federal poverty level will have to pay $25 or $35 dollars per prescription. That could add up to $1,200 dollars a year for someone earning under $20,000.
Davis’ proposed budget also cuts the state’s $25 billion dollar Medi-Cal program by almost 30 percent. Medi-Cal serves low income and disabled Californians. The proposed cuts include ten optional services including adult dental care, which will also affects people living with HIV/AIDS. The APLA Dental Clinic is one of the most widely used services by the more than 10,000 people who access services at APLA. These statewide cuts will have a devastating impact on people living with HIV/AIDS, especially communities of color, which are already disproportionately impacted. This comes after years of flat-funding for HIV/AIDS in Washington, and an escalating crisis in Los Angeles County’s healthcare system.
It is a dire situation for people living with HIV/AIDS. We need leadership on increasing state revenues and on the issue of affordable drugs. Otherwise, the programs that serve people with HIV/AIDS will have to scale back or set up waiting lists for their services.
The HIV/AIDS community will have to mobilize like never before if we’re going to save these programs, and continue our efforts to contain this epidemic.
-APLA-
