Many Southern
AIDS advocates continue to push for changes in how federal
Ryan White AIDS funds are allocated throughout the United
States, claiming current funding formulas shortchange
HIV patients in the South. A report by the
Government Accountability Office shows that under the
current Ryan White funding formulas, which are based in part
on a region's cumulative number of AIDS cases
since the beginning of the epidemic, California
receives $5,624 per HIV patient compared with just
$3,675 for an HIV patient in Alabama.
But AIDS
advocates for states that have had large numbers of AIDS
patients since the early 1980s--and continue to have
large HIVer populations--say the GAO study is
flawed. They instead point to a Communities
Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief report, which
demonstrates that many Southern states already receive
more money per HIV patient than the national average.
The CAEAR report also shows that HIV-positive
Southerners in many cases are allocated more federal
AIDS funds than HIV patients in large urban areas elsewhere.
Southern AIDS
advocates, however, are continuing to press for changes in
the Ryan White funding formulas, saying the need for the
money is greater in places like the South that have
growing epidemics than in areas with level or
diminishing numbers of new HIV cases. Lawmakers from
California, New York, and other states with
long-established HIV epidemics are opposed to any such
changes that could cost their states tens of millions
in AIDS funds.
Many AIDS
advocates are hoping for a significantly larger allocation
for the Ryan White Act so that all regions of the
country could receive adequate federal funding, but
they concede that large spending increases are
unlikely given the ongoing federal budget deficit and
reluctance by lawmakers to boost spending.
Congress is
currently discussing reauthorization of the Ryan White Act
and is debating possible changes to the act's funding
formularies. A decision on Ryan White reauthorization
is expected by the end of the summer, possibly as
early as June, say Congressional sources. (The
Advocate)
