Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, September 15, 2000
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau
A formula change in the original bill would have cut San Francisco's share of special grant money under the Ryan White Care Act, which helps pay for AIDS care and treatment, as much as 25 percent over five years, or about $10.2 million.
Under the compromise bill, the city will lose 15 percent of its allotment, or about $7.5 million over five years.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, hailed the smaller cut as a major victory.
"We're very pleased," Pelosi said. "We'll have to make up for it in appropriations, but $7.5 million is a lot easier to make up."
The provision most affecting San Francisco would allow funding levels to drop by as much as 15 percent if the number of AIDS cases in any city declines sharply.
The formula change is designed to shift Ryan White funding to areas where the disease is rising and to target HIV infections rather than full-blown AIDS cases.
San Francisco now receives roughly twice as much money per AIDS case, roughly $5,000 a year, as other cities, even though the epidemic has spread to other areas of the country and other demographic groups, particularly minorities and women.
Rep. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and a physician, had insisted on the changes, arguing that federal money should be based on where the disease is going, rather than where it has been.
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