Tell Obama He Has the Power to Eliminate ADAP Waiting Lists!
Posted by , April 05, 2010 at 10:16pm
PWAs shouldn’t have to wait on line for meds!
With four years until federal health care reform fully kicks in, there are still thousands of Americans with HIV/AIDS reliant on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program as a much-needed safety net. But with states in budget crisis, that safety net has once again broken down.
Advocates are calling on President Obama to bail out the 722 people currently on waiting lists for medication by approving an emergency $126 million this year.
“The federal government, the state governments, everyone’s saying ‘Get tested, get tested.’ We can’t say, ‘Can you wait? We don’t have enough money to give you medication,’” said Brandon Macsata, CEO of the ADAP Advocacy Association.
The group has posted a video on YouTube calling on Obama to approve this money to save ADAPs from crisis.
ADAPs provide life-saving medications under the Ryan White CARE Act to people living with HIV/AIDS nationwide, who are uninsured or under-insured. This vital federal-state program faces a $126 million shortfall for Fiscal Year 2010, just to keep pace with current demand. That shortfall is currently fueling the growth of these waiting lists, now nearing 800 Americans, including 16 people in Arkansas, 21 people in Idaho, 59 people in Iowa, 183 people in Kentucky, 17 people in Montana, 270 people in North Carolina, 15 people in South Carolina, 26 people in South Dakota, 86 people in Tennessee, 71 people in Utah and 13 people in Wyoming (as of March 26, according to the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors).
In addition, numerous states have imposed cost-cutting measures, such as limiting the number of drugs patients can have.
If the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) had been included in health care reform, many of these people would have been covered by Medicaid. ETHA would allow states to cover people with HIV to be covered by Medicaid before they get sick. It was included in the original House bill as a temporary measure until health care reform’s provisions kick in. And even without ETHA, by 2014 many more people with HIV/AIDS will be covered by Medicaid, leaving Ryan White to be truly the payer of last resort like it was envisioned.
But we have to deal with reality as it is right now. So tell Obama and Congress to approve $126 million in FY10 Supplemental Funds to end the ADAP wait lists! Send a message to President Obama, and contact your reps and tell them to approve funding for ADAP. If you are personally affected by the ADAP crisis, make sure to share that.
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