PI Action alerts & updates ... 2004
Save ADAP Organizational Sign-on Letter
The SAVE ADAP Committee has started a campaign to get an emergency
supplemental appropriation for ADAP to help alleviate the current
fiscal crisis. As part of this effort, we are circulating an organizational
sign-on letter that will be delivered to Congress and the Bush Administration
during our lobby days in February.
We have an ambitious goal of getting over 1,000 organizations to
endorse this effort. If you have connections to any organizations,
clinics, committees, etc., please help us by sending them this Alert
and asking them to sign on.
Thanks!
Ryan
AIDS Treatment Activists Coalitions’ SAVE ADAP Alert
Organizational sign-ons needed for ADAP emergency supplemental appropriations
campaign
The SAVE ADAP Committee of the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition
is encouraging organizations to join us in our efforts to secure
an emergency supplemental appropriation of $180 million for the
AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). As we are likely to fall well
short of the amount needed in the Fiscal Year 2004 appropriations
bill, we need an emergency supplemental to help alleviate the current
ADAP crisis.
Below is an organizational sign-on letter that SAVE ADAP will deliver
to Members of Congress and the Bush Administration during our February
lobby days in Washington, DC. We have a goal of securing over 1,000
organizational signatures on this letter.
Please help by signing the letter and working to get other organizations,
clinics, committees, etc. to do the same! To sign this letter, email
Gary Rose at Grose@hydeparkcomm.com. Deadline for signing is Friday,
January 30.
SAVE ADAP Emergency Supplemental Appropriation Organizational
Sign-on Letter
Dear (Member of Congress/President Bush)
The undersigned organizations are writing to urge
your support for an emergency supplemental appropriation of $180
million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), for Fiscal
Year 2004.
As you know, ADAP, funded under Title II of the
Ryan White CARE Act, provides access to treatment for low-income
people living with HIV/AIDS who are uninsured or lack adequate prescription
drug coverage. It is the final safety net for Americans who have
no other means of accessing HIV medications, and a lifeline for
approximately 90,000 clients every month.
However, many state ADAPs are facing financial difficulties
and unable to meet the needs of those who depend on the program.
According to the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS
Directors (NASTAD), as of November 2003, sixteen states have implemented
restrictions to treatment access, including waiting lists of nearly
700 people in thirteen states. Five more states are anticipating
new or additional restrictions in the next few months.
Meanwhile, the number of people depending on ADAP
continues to grow. The Bush Administration has strongly encouraged
that all Americans learn their HIV status, and by implementing policies
such as the approval and dissemination of the rapid HIV test, the
numbers of people being tested are growing. As the ADAP Monitoring
Report produced by NASTAD, the AIDS Treatment Data Network, and
the Kaiser Family Foundation illustrates, many of these new HIV
cases are people who are disproportionately uninsured and low-income
and need safety net programs such as ADAP to access treatment that
will keep them healthy and productive.
The House/Senate Labor-HHS Conference Committee
has approved a $35 million increase for ADAP for FY 2004. While
this increase is appreciated, it falls well short of the $215 million
increase identified by treatment experts as needed to alleviate
the current ADAP crisis. Therefore, we urge your leadership in securing
an emergency supplemental appropriation for the remaining $180 million.
In addition, we urge you to also support the highest funding possible
for the entire Ryan White CARE Act and other vital HIV/AIDS programs
in the next appropriations process.
Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
Organizational listing
To add your organization’s name, please email Gary Rose at
GRose@hydeparkcomm.com Deadline for signatures: Friday, January
30, 2004
