Austin American Statesman (12.14.02) - Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Mary Ann Roser

Of the 12,500 Texans enrolled in the program, 2,500 clients are expected to be cut from the program. Another 1,700 new clients who would have signed on to the program next year would be excluded based on new income guidelines the Texas Board of Health is expected to approve in February.

The program has a $58 million annual budget, but with demand growing and drug costs soaring, the Texas Department of Health expects a shortfall of $34 million in the next two-year budget cycle, which starts in September. Department officials are proposing tightening income eligibility so that anyone making more than 140 percent of the federal poverty level, or $12,400 a year, no longer would qualify. Today, the income cutoff is 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $17,720, but that can be raised to cover medication costs. That means an individual can now have an annual income of $26,000 and still get the benefit.

The Health Department has received more than 2,500 comments about the proposal, most of them urging the agency to abandon the cuts. "No one likes the idea of having to do this," department spokesperson Doug McBride said. But cutting costs is probably the only way to keep the program alive, said Linda Moore, director of clinical resources in the department's bureau for prevention of HIV and other STDs. "The bottom line for us is, we're running out of money. We've got to do something," Moore said. "If we don't do something, we will have to close the program."

Moore said the Health Department is concerned about how the cuts will effect clients. If its board approves the change, affected clients would get six months to move out of the program. The department will try to connect them with free drug programs offered by pharmaceutical companies, Moore said.
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