PI Action alerts & updates ... 2003

Fiscal Year 2003 Appropriations Bill Finally Passed

ADAP receives $80 million increase

Congress has finished its work on the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. As you know from previous SAVE ADAP updates, the appropriations bill was supposed to have been completed by October 1st of last year, as that is the beginning of FY 2003. However, Congress was unable to finish its appropriations work and passed a serious of temporary spending bills to keep programs funded until it could negotiate a final bill. This work is now complete, and President Bush has signed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill into law.

The AIDS Drug Assistance Program has received an $80 million increase in this appropriations bill. This is less than half of the $162 million increase identified as needed to alleviate the current fiscal crisis in many state ADAPs. However, it is a sorely needed increase and ADAP did much better than other HIV/AIDS and healthcare programs in this challenging economic and political climate. It is difficult to claim victory when Congress and President Bush have once again failed to meet the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS, but know that many low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS will be able to access medications because of your efforts.

In addition, all of us who weighed in on this issue have succeeded in bringing the ADAP crisis to the attention of Congress and the Administration. Many thanks to all of you who took the time to write, call, and meet with your elected representatives about the need for adequate funding for this life-saving program. We heard from staff of the House/Senate Appropriations Conference Committee that our ADAP message was heard loud and clear. This visibility will help in our future efforts to obtain adequate funding for this program.

Below are some next steps in the ongoing process to fight for adequate funding for ADAPs nationwide. We’ll continue to keep you informed and involved as needed.

Next steps/actions you can take:
Call or write your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. If you call, ask to speak to their legislative aide who handles HIV/AIDS issues. Thank them for completing work on the appropriations bill, and for the $80 million increase for ADAP. However, also let them know that this amount falls well short of the amount needed to alleviate the ADAP crisis and that stronger leadership will be needed this year.

There will likely be efforts to obtain an emergency supplemental appropriation for ADAP in the next month or two as part of an overall supplemental appropriations bill. We will keep you informed and ask that you contact your federal representatives when needed.
The Fiscal Year 2004 appropriations process is not that far away. As you may have read, President Bush recently announced that he will ask for a $100 million increase for ADAP in the FY 2004 budget. This is good news and very important that he has finally demonstrated public support for this program, but it falls short of what we expect will be needed to alleviate the ADAP crisis. In the next couple of weeks, we will know the project need number for ADAP in FY 2004. That will be the number that we will ask Congress to support.

Several state AIDS/ADAP directors have formed the ADAP Crisis Task Force and have requested meetings with top-level officials at pharmaceutical companies who manufacture HIV/AIDS drugs to negotiate a drug pricing policy that will help alleviate the current ADAP crisis and work towards long-term stability of the program. Those meetings are being scheduled in mid-March. If you interact with any representatives from pharmaceutical companies in the next few weeks, you are encouraged to express your support for these negotiations. We’ll keep you posted about other ways to help as the meeting dates approach.

Thank you again for your tireless efforts in support of adequate treatment access for people living with HIV/AIDS! We are always looking for new members of the SAVE ADAP group. For more information, contact Ryan Clary, or any representative of the group listed below.

For more information, contact one of the following SAVE ADAP members:

Bill Arnold (DC)
Title II Community AIDS National Network
202-588-1775
weaids@tiicann.org

Mark Baker (Massachusetts)
AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod
508-487-9445 x47 or pasg@capecod.net

James Carr (Indiana)
jamesmcarr@hotmail.com

Lei Chou (New York)
AIDS Treatment Data Network
TheAccessProject@aol.com

Ryan Clary (California)
Project Inform
415-558-8669 x224
rclary@projectinform.org

Linda Dee (Maryland)
AIDS Action Baltimore
410-837-2437
lyndamdee@aol.com

Amanda Diers (Florida)
Florida AIDS Action
813-974-2838
amandaflaac@aol.com

Pat Donahue (Rhode Island)
tapd33@hotmail.com

Mark Garrett (Washington)
Spokane AIDS Network
509-455-8993 x221
speakinup@msn.com

Sue Gibson (Texas):
suegibson@nova1.net

Kathie Hiers (Alabama)
AIDS Alabama
205-324-9822 ext. 331
Kathie@aidsalabama.org

Patrick Lee (North Carolina)
North Carolina Council for Positive Living
336-586-0062
ncaan@ncpositiveliving.org

David Munar (Illinois)
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
312-922-2322
dmunar@aidschicago.org

Jim Musselwhite (Washington)
360-570-8380
aeon97@tss.net

Robert O’Brien (Pennsylvania)
215-803-5181

Murray Penner (DC)
National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
202-434-8099
mpenner@nastad.org

Fred Scaich (Oregon)
IFARA@attbi.com

Jerry Spillman (California)
gspillman@earthlink.net

Brian Varner (Tennessee)
Tennessee AIDS Support Services, Inc.
865-525-7766
tassi@kornet.org