Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 11 Sep 95
"This program just got away from us," Coleen Kivlahan, the state health director, told The Associated Press on Monday. "It's very sad, it's very embarrassing and very real. This will have a real impact on real people."
Already, prescriptions have gone unfilled, dental appointments have been canceled and some people who depended on the money are worried.
"Some people are wondering how they will eat," said Dave Peters, executive director of the AIDS Project of Springfield, which had 257 people on the program. "It's devastating to them. ... They're very upset."
The program for people who are HIV-positive or who have AIDS was funded by a $2.2 million federal grant. It was intended for people who don't have private insurance or other sources for care.
Kivlahan said problems began last year when controls once imposed on the program were lifted to make more people eligible -- and assure that no unspent grant money lapsed back to Washington.
It took only three months for this year's money to run out -- including $200,000 spent to cover a deficit from last year. Yet spending continued into August, piling up perhaps $1.9 million in debts. Last week, Kivlahan ordered the program canceled.
Kivlahan said advisory panels made up of local AIDS agencies pushed to make more people eligible in April 1994, after the program wound up its first year with unspent money.
They agreed to dump a limit on prescription spending, and allow payments for "nontraditional treatments" including acupuncture and chiropractic. And they expanded the maximum allowable income of recipients.
At the same time, there was no system to keep track of grant spending that was being approved by some 60 publicly paid "care coordinators" across the state.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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