Governor proposes deep cuts, with more to come
Some proposed cuts, such as a $55.5 million reduction in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and other state Office of AIDS programs, would be life-threatening, Courtney Mulhern-Pearson, policy and legislative associate for San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said.
"We were expecting cuts, but this is much, much worse than what we were expecting," said Mulhern-Pearson, adding that about 35,000 low-income Californians with AIDS rely on the drug assistance program.
Schwarzenegger's plan would force AIDS patients to bear more of the cost for medication while reducing or eliminating HIV/AIDS programs such as counseling, monitoring and educational services.
Cuts to CA AIDS budget remain in flux
Last week Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger initially proposed cutting the state Office of AIDS' entire general fund support of $160 million. The proposal would have jeopardized more than $150 million in federal matching funds that the state receives through grants from the Ryan White CARE Act and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation called the idea "draconian" and said it would result in 35,000 Californians losing access to their HIV medications because the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, known as ADAP, would cease to exist.
"This is the worst possible time to take support away from the most vulnerable Californians," stated Judith Auerbach, Ph.D., the foundation's vice president for science and public policy. "Balancing the budget on the backs of those at greatest risk threatens to reverse all progress made against the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the past two decades."
But this week the Schwarzenegger administration backtracked and revised its budget plan to call for only an $80.1 million cut to the AIDS office's budget. It would end support for all of the office's programs and leave in place only $12.3 million for ADAP.
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