Press room ... 2003 archive

Schwarzenegger's Proposed Cuts to AIDS Drug Assistance Program Inhumane, Costly and Shortsighted

November 25, 2003

San Francisco, CA—Project Inform, a national HIV/AIDS treatment and advocacy organization that serves more than 20,000 Californians, strongly criticizes Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's request for mid-year budget cuts to essential health, human service and education programs. The cuts were proposed in spite of promises that he would not balance the state's budget on the backs of the most vulnerable Californians.

Proposed cuts to the State's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and Medi-Cal, the State's health insurance program for low-income people are of particular concern to people living with HIV/AIDS. The request to close enrollment in California ADAP as of January 1, 2004 is unprecedented and would mean that for the first time, Californians living with HIV may not be able to access the prescription drugs that can prolong and even save their lives. In addition, the proposed reduction in reimbursement to Medi-Cal providers comes on top of a 5% cut already made in the 2003-2004 budget, and would likely mean that many health care providers will no longer be able to serve these vulnerable individuals.

ADAP provides prescription drugs to fight HIV and its associated diseases to some 26,000 low-income Californians who can't otherwise afford them. Forty-six percent of ADAP beneficiaries earn less than $8,860 per year; seventy-seven percent earn less than $17,720 per year. As part of a set of budget cuts he asked the Legislature to make half-way through the current budget year, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed closing enrollment in the program to new participants, denying HIV medications to an estimated 720 people with HIV or AIDS from January 1 to June 30, 2004.

"Access to ADAP is the difference between life and death for many low-income, HIV positive Californians," said Anne Donnelly, Director of Public Policy. "Governor Schwarzenegger is seeking to balance the budget by cutting essential programs, contrary to his campaign promises. We urge the Governor to reconsider this ill-advised course of action and instead affirm a commitment to low-income people who depend on these life-saving health care programs."

The cuts to Medi-Cal providers are equally destructive since approximately 27,000 low-income and mostly disabled Californians living with HIV rely on this program for the health care they need to stay alive. Decreasing already low reimbursement rates will mean that beneficiaries will have a much more difficult time locating a doctor who can afford to take Medi-Cal patients, and may also lead some providers to drop existing Medi-Cal patients. Studies have shown that people living with HIV who get their health care from a doctor specializing in HIV care live longer. Making it more difficult for the poorest and the sickest individuals to find HIV specialty care is unconscionable.

The Governor's proposals are not only bad public health, they are bad fiscal policy. People who can't get care and medications will get sicker, and the resulting increased demand for emergency and acute care services will end up costing the State more.

Project Inform urges Governor Schwarzenegger to rethink his current proposals to slash health and human services programs and instead work with the Legislature to develop more productive and humane solutions to the State's budget problems.