For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke
213.201.1525
jburke@apla.org
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES BLASTS CUTS TO VITAL STATE AIDS PROGRAMS
Los Angeles, Calif., January 10, 2008 – AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today expressed severe disappointment with Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal to cut $11 million from the state’s HIV/AIDS programs as part of his efforts to close the state’s $14.5-billion deficit.
The cuts include a $7 million reduction to California’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) by eliminating drugs for co-morbidities in the program’s formulary; a $2.2 million cut to HIV prevention and education programs; a $400,000 decrease to the state’s HIV epidemiology programs; and $300,000 in cuts to the California’s Therapeutic Monitoring Program (TMP). In addition, $13 million in one-time funding for fiscal year 2007-08 will not be renewed.
“We’re shocked that the governor would propose such draconian solutions,” stated APLA executive director Craig Thompson. “He and his staff are well aware that ADAP clients often live on ten thousand dollars a year. These clients rely on the program for medications to keep them healthy and alive. Slashing ADAP not only endangers the health of poor people with HIV/AIDS, but also guarantees them a trip to the emergency room if they get sick, and in the end, the state will pay.”
Thompson also criticized the governor’s plans to slash Medi-Cal provider rates, as well as cut $115 million in Medi-Cal dental benefits. “These cuts will make it even harder for people with HIV to find capable doctors and dentists to meet their needs,” Thompson said. “Oral care is especially significant in HIV/AIDS care. Some dentists still refuse to see people with AIDS, and yet trained dentists at the APLA dental clinic are often the first to spot signs of advanced HIV/AIDS.
“The governor insisted in his State of the State speech that we must not put people through the ups and downs of the state’s budget process,” Thompson said. “Yet these cuts create a downward spiral for those who need these services and programs most.
“While the governor needs to balance the budget,” Thompson added, “these cuts are trailing annual cuts in AIDS funding at the federal level. Somehow or other, it has become acceptable to slash programs that serve the most vulnerable populations.”
According to new estimates not yet published but widely reported, there are approximately 60,000 new HIV infections in the U. S. every year. In Los Angeles County alone, an estimated 60,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS.
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.
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