BUSINESS WIRE; Wednesday May 20, 8:04 pm EST
ADAP, which is funded jointly by the state and federal governments, provides free and low-cost HIV drugs to low and moderate income individuals who are uninsured or whose insurance does not adequately cover necessary HIV therapies. "Today's votes ensures that all Californians with HIV disease regardless of their ability to pay -- will have access to promising, yet costly new HIV treatments," said Pat Christen, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "We are extremely grateful to the Legislature and to the Governor for their continued support for this critical program."
Today's action came just days after the release of Governor Wilson's May budget revisions for next year's state budget, which recommended a $4.2 million reduction in the Governor's original budget request of $126.2 million for ADAP. The Governor's revised request reflected higher than expected savings to the state as the result of the recent centralization of ADAP administration.
Of the $8.9 million in savings the state will realize through centralization, the Governor's revised budget proposed using $4.7 million to expand the number of drugs available through the program with the remaining $4.2 million in savings going to the state general fund.
"Although we are appreciative of the Administration's decision to re-invest part of the savings back into ADAP, we believe that the full $8.9 million must be re-invested in ADAP," said Fred Dillon, state policy associate of the SF AIDS Foundation, who testified before law makers today.
"Committee members agreed and voted to use the full $8.9 million in savings to expand the number of drugs available through ADAP."
The ADAP Medical Advisory Council has recommended adding many HIV-related drugs to the formulary, which has not been possible due to insufficient funding. The $126.2 million approved by the Subcommittees today represents a $35.9 million increase over FY 98 ($15.6 million of which is new state funding).
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation (www.sfaf.org) is a non-profit, community-based AIDS service organization that has been at the forefront of the battle against HIV disease for 15 years.
Contact: SF AIDS Foundation Derek Gordon, 415/487-3031 prcenter@sfaf.org
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