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Providing HIV and AIDS care and
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Dear Pearle E. Gates,
Over 14,000 low-income Texans living with HIV and AIDS depend on Texas' AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) for their life-sustaining drugs. The program, also known as the Texas HIV Medication Program (THMP), is at risk and, with it, the lives of thousands of Texans.
When tasked with deciding funding priority levels, the $19.2 million needed to sustain ADAP was ranked by Texas budget writers as a second-tier priority. When asked what would happen to Texans if the program were not fully funded, Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, stated that, “The natural progression – without any medications – would be that they would die.”
The proposed cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program are short-sighted and will have an immediately detrimental impact on the health of people living with HIV and AIDS. Cutting funding for ADAP will force the program to tighten eligibility criteria and restrict the range of available medications as there is an expected 14 percent growth in demand on ADAP over the next two years.
Hoping that local health clinics and AIDS Service Organizations can pick up these costs completely ignores the reality that the State of Texas exercises its unique power to negotiate much lower prices for these medications. Local clinics and organizations lack that bargaining power and – due to increased demand – are already stretched to the limit to provide direct services and assistance to clients and patients in this economic downturn.
A failure to provide the $19.2 million in funding for ADAP means that over 2,000 individuals living with HIV and AIDS will lose their medications, lose their ability to fight off infection, and – ultimately – lose their lives. Cost savings associated with shrinking ADAP will be dwarfed by the healthcare expenditures that will be required for people progressing to AIDS as their immune systems are destroyed.
If Texas legislators fail to fully fund the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, they will be deciding who lives and who dies.
The good news is that this fight is not over, and there are steps that you can take to help influence the decisions of our lawmakers.
1. Stay informed: Join the Texas HIV/AIDS Coalition on Facebook for news and information and sign up for email alerts.
2. Contact your representatives. When you fill this out, it sends a fax to your State Representative and Senator, asking them to fully fund the Texas HIV Medication Program.
3. Attend the Texas HIV Medication Program Advisory Committee meeting this Friday, April 1. You will hear what the Texas Department of State Health Services will need to do if the medication program is not fully funded. You will also be able to give feedback, ideas and suggestions. If you can attend the meeting, please email Bruce Turner. The meeting is this Friday at 12:00 noon at the DSHS Main Campus, 1100 W 49th St, Room K-100 Lecture Hall.
4. Get the word out! Forward this to all of your friends and to anyone who has a stake in this fight. Spread the word through any organizations of which you are a member.
Thank you for your attention to this crucial issue that affects the physical and fiscal health of our community. We are working with people like you from across the state to ensure that low-income Texans have access to the medications that keep them alive. Together, we will make our voices heard on behalf of the 14,000 Texans who are alive today thanks to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
In solidarity,
Paul Scott
Executive Director
AIDS Services of Austin
Quick Facts
About the Texas AIDS Drug Assistance Program:
- Over 14,000 Texans are currently enrolled in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program
- Since it was started in 1987, the Texas HIV Medication Assistance Program has served over 45,000 people
- $19.2 million is needed to maintain the program as it stands today
- 43% of new applicants report $0 income
- 73% of new applicants report incomes of less than 100% of the federal poverty level
- HIV and AIDS medications cost the individual upwards of $30,000 annually without assistance
- A total of $25 million in program cuts are being proposed
Repercussions of Failing to Fund the Texas AIDS Drug Assistance Program:
- HIV will quickly progress to AIDS for thousands of Texans
- The body will build a resistance against medications
- A choice will have to be made between medications and other necessities such as food and housing
- There will be greater costs to local governments and taxpayers as individuals seek emergency care
- Contagious diseases will cause a public health risk due to compromised immune systems
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