For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES LAUDS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET
Los Angeles, CA, August 2, 2004 – AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today praised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature for fully funding California’s life-saving AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and preserving funding for other essential HIV/AIDS programs in the 2004-2005 state budget signed Saturday.
“Governor Schwarzenegger promised to work with the Legislature, and this budget delivers on that promise as far as HIV/AIDS is concerned,” said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. “Clearly, the governor and the Legislature understand that it is imperative that the state provide adequate funding to fight California’s AIDS epidemic.”
ADAP
The new budget fully funds the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program at $234 million, up $27 million from the previous year. ADAP provides HIV/AIDS drugs to some 26,000 low-income uninsured and underinsured Californians living with the disease. ADAP is financed by federal and state funds and about $60 million in rebates from pharmaceutical companies. This budget specifies that all rebates generated from ADAP drug purchases will remain in the program.
Therapeutic Monitoring
In another budget move supported by HIV/AIDS advocates, the governor and the Legislature restored $3 million in state general funds to the Therapeutic Monitoring Program (TMP). This program provides ADAP clients with free testing to determine when complicated drug therapies should begin and which HIV/AIDS drugs work best for each individual. Funding for TMP was eliminated last year (except for $1 million in federal funds) to help sustain the ADAP program. Los Angeles County has been the largest consumer of these funds in the state.
Medi-Cal Reimbursement
The governor’s budget also dropped a previously proposed 10 percent Medi-Cal reimbursement rate cut for dental and medical providers. Some programs were also exempted from a five percent rate cut imposed by the last Davis Administration budget that is moving through the courts. AIDS Project Los Angeles operates the largest HIV specific dental clinic in Los Angeles County.
Future Funding Is An Issue
“We are extremely grateful to both the governor and the Legislature for maintaining HIV/AIDS programs in this budget, especially in a time of fiscal crisis,” Thompson said. “But if federal funding continues to decline, California’s HIV/AIDS providers will have a hard time meeting the growing demand for their services without increased state funding in the future.”
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the nation’s largest AIDS service organizations, provides bilingual direct services to more than 6,100 men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County each year. Services include prevention education, food banks and nutrition education, professional dental care, mental health counseling, housing and transportation assistance, information and referral services, case management and home health care. APLA is a leader in the development of HIV prevention programs, and helps shape fair and effective HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation in response to the local, national and international epidemics.
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