AHF commends Sen. Bill Nelson for urging Senate colleagues to address funding shortfall in ADAP

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)Aug 20 2010

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today commended United States Senator Bill Nelson (D, FL) for pressing colleagues in the Senate Democratic Leadership to address a funding crisis wreaking havoc with the lives of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS who are dependent on the nation's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a Federal/State program that pays for lifesaving AIDS drugs for low-income Americans. In a letter dated August 18^th sent to key members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Nelson wrote, "While President Obama recently announced a reallocation of $25 million to states that have been hardest hit by the crisis, it may not be enough." He added, "I urge you to join me in support of robust funding for programs like ADAP that offer real hope to Americans enduring the throes of this debilitating disease."

“The Democratic Leadership has been AWOL on ADAP so we thank Senator Nelson for being among the first to speak out and for urging his Senate colleagues to address this funding shortfall that is crippling ADAP and threatening the lives of thousands of Americans”

Over the past month, AHF spearheaded protests and rallies targeting politicians including Senator Nelson and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urging them to act on the ADAP crisis. Actions targeting Nelson were held at the Senator's District offices in Ft. Lauderdale (Aug 6) and Tampa (Aug 13).

"The Democratic Leadership has been AWOL on ADAP so we thank Senator Nelson for being among the first to speak out and for urging his Senate colleagues to address this funding shortfall that is crippling ADAP and threatening the lives of thousands of Americans," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Consensus among nearly all AIDS and policy experts is that $126 million is what is needed to fix ADAP and that the $25 million that President Obama recently reallocated will barely cover the 3,000 people already on waiting lists. Immediate action must be taken to fix ADAP and get these people and others on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment. We urge the Senate Leadership and other Senate colleagues to join Senator Nelson in vigorously supporting—and funding—ADAP."

There are currently nearly 3,000 people in 13 states on ADAP waiting lists; over 1,000 of these people are in Florida, Senator Nelson's state. Nationwide, ADAPs serve over 165,000 people, accounting for one third of people on AIDS treatment in the U.S. Unfortunately, the need for these programs expands every year, as more and more people become infected and diagnosed with HIV/AIDS; each year thousands of newly diagnosed HIV patients turn to ADAPs because they cannot afford their medicines.

Nelson's letter, which was addressed to Senator Daniel Inouye, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and Related Agencies; and Senator Thad Cochran, Ranking Member on both of the above committees, also noted, "With state budgets under intense pressure from the economic downturn, Federal assistance to keep these programs up and running is all the more important. More and more AIDS cases are being diagnosed in underprivileged communities, and without ADAP, these new patients would have no means of accessing medication."

"On June 1^st, Florida, which ranks third in the nation for the number of reported cases, instituted a waiting list for people to receive lifesaving AIDS drugs though ADAP," said Michael Kahane, AHF Bureau Chief, Southern Region. "As of August 12^th, 1178 people—over one third of the national total in 13 states—were on Florida's ADAP waiting list. We greatly appreciate Senator Nelson for writing to urge Senate colleagues to work support 'robust funding' for ADAP. Legislators including Nelson could support an existing bill—S. 3401—or they can find many other ways to appropriate and allocate the $101 million still needed to resolve the nation's ADAP crisis."

To address the crisis at the federal level, Senators Burr, Coburn and Enzi introduced S. 3401 in June. S.3401, known as the ACCESS ADAP Act, would provide $126 million in unobligated stimulus funds to eliminate waiting lists through Fiscal Year 2010; however, the bill has failed to gain the support of Congress or the Obama administration.

In mid-July, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that $25 million would be re-allocated to state ADAPs for Fiscal Year 2010. This amount is simply insufficient to cover the need—far short of the $126 million experts say is needed—to address the program's problems. This initial White House funding also neglects to take into account future uncertainty regarding state budget cuts or the rates at which waiting lists are growing.

According to an article in the South Florida Gay News, Health Dept. Unveils New Plans for HIV/AIDS (July 13, 2010 by Jarrett Terrill) Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents Florida's 20^th District in the House of Representatives which includes Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, recently sent an email to her colleagues in Washington DC in a plea to join her in support of an increase to HIV/AIDS funding: "…Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz sees where both federal and state governments have fallen down on the job when it comes to ADAP funding. 'Federal funding has not kept up with growing demand, and state budget cuts have resulted in funding reductions,' she explained… 'Some states are even removing current beneficiaries from their program,' concluded Wasserman Schultz in her email plea to the rest of Congress. 'Clearly, we must address this situation. Without immediate attention and additional resources the situation will rapidly become even worse.'"