Governor’s AIDS Cuts Draw Fire

Responding to Gov. George Deukmejian’s veto of a $28-million increase in the state AIDS budget last week, legislators and health workers Thursday called the cuts “blind and cruel” and predicted that many essential services to people with AIDS will be canceled.

At a press conference on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall, Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) and other lawmakers urged the governor to restore the money, which was earmarked for AIDS research, hospice care, education and treatment.

“On account of (Deukmejian’s) vetoes, the lives of people in this county who don’t have AIDS are more vulnerable to getting AIDS, and those who do are less likely to have the services, treatment and counseling that they have a right to expect,” said Vasconcellos, who chairs the state AIDS Budget Task Force and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Among Vetoed Funds

The AIDS funds were among $472 million the governor vetoed June 8 from proposals sent to him by the Legislature. Deukmejian’s new budget totaled $44 billion--an overall increase of 7.3% in state spending over last year.

John Mortimer, a spokesman for AIDS Project Los Angeles, which provides treatment and counseling to AIDS victims, called the cuts “both a human tragedy and an economic tragedy for the state of California.”

He said the organizations hardest-hit in Los Angeles County will be those receiving the largest amount of state aid for their projects, such as AIDS Project Los Angeles and the Minority AIDS Project, in addition to the Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center and other organizations.

The $28 million in cuts does not include MediCal entitlement programs, which are a blanket appropriation and do not include separate AIDS funds.

$67 Million Budgeted

Even with Deukmejian’s veto, the state will spend $67 million on AIDS, an increase of about 27% over last year. Last week Deukmejian said when federal funds are counted, spending on AIDS in California will amount to $89.8 million.

Jesse Huff, director of the state Department of Finance, said in an interview that “the level of funding (for AIDS) in California exceeds the level of funding by any other state in the country by a wide margin.”

But at the press conference, members of local AIDS organizations predicted the impact of the recent budget cuts on their projects.

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Hospice Foundation, said his organization expected to receive $225,000 in state money to help cover the cost of building a hospice at the Barlow Hospice near Dodger Stadium. Instead, the foundation will receive nothing from the state.

“We’ll have to cut five beds,” Weinstein said. “So 60 people a year who would otherwise have a clean, safe place to spend the last (days) of their lives will die elsewhere. In the county hospital, the street, wherever.

“We simply cannot meet the needs of the AIDS crisis with these types of vetoes.”

More Cases Expected

Mortimer said the organization’s AIDS mental health client caseload is expected to increase considerably, but the budget for such counseling dropped to “virtually nothing.”

“We’re talking about an epidemic where there will be a huge growth in the number of cases, where needs are already not adequately addressed,” he said. “We’re already trying to play catch762671136list” for counseling.

Mortimer also noted that among the $28 million in cuts, $4 million was intended for education and health screening for people who tested positive for the AIDS virus, and $4 million was for the development of experimental drugs. “I was shocked,” he said.

“The level of funding the governor supported should come as a surprise to no one,” Huff said. “I can understand that some people think there ought to be more, but that’s also true with j1970500640in the state government.

“It’s really depressing. For every dollar that’s cut it means someone’s not going to get a vitally needed service.”

“The budget cuts are going to take too little and make it even less,” said Phillip Wilson, a spokesman for the Minority AIDS Project, a nonprofit corporation in Los Angeles that offers services to people with AIDS in black and Latino communities.

“We can’t address the issue of AIDS in people-of-color communities with the current funding levels, and with the budget cuts, we’re sentencing people to death. It’s as simple as that,” Wilson said.

“This action cripples programs which will do outreach to (intravenous) drug-using populations.”

City Councilman Joel Wachs said, “The tragic irony is that in the long run, (Deukmejian’s budget) cuts will actually cost the state money, because not only will people go untreated, but the state will lose out on cost-effective programs like home health care.”

The number of AIDS cases statewide “roughly doubles” each year, said Dr. Alan Trachtenberg, chief of the research and statistics section of the state AIDS Office. Trachtenberg said the AIDS Office has not issued formal projections on the yearly rate of increase in the number of AIDS patients statewide, however.

CUTS IN AIDS BUDGET

Gov. George Deukmejian has come under fire from legislators and AIDS organizations for his veto last week of about $28 million in state AIDS funds. Below are examples of some cuts the governor made in the Legislature’s proposed AIDS budget. All figures expressed in thousands.

1987-88 1988-89 1988-89 STATE BUDGET LEGIS. BUDGET FINAL BUDGET Information, education grants $11,643 $20,003 $15,628 Home health, attendant and hospice projects $4,094 $6,774 $4,774 AIDS drug development -- $4,000 -- Education and screening for HIV-infected -- $4,000 -- Barlow hospice center -- $225 -- University of California $9,857 $11,507 $9,857 Dept. of Mental Health $700 $5,210 $700 State general fund $52,563 $95,945 $66,605

Source: Assembly Ways and Means Committee