U.S. Approves Transfer of Funds to AZT Program for AIDS Patients
The Bush Administration on Friday granted a request from several senators to transfer $5 million in federal AIDS funds to a program that provides the drug AZT to patients who cannot afford the costly treatment.
The action by the Health and Human Services Department came hours before the program expired. It will allow new funds to be sent to states to carry their programs for six months.
HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, in announcing the action, said he agreed with “the compassionate purpose” of the transfer. But he said “a series of one-time appropriations is not the most desirable way to address the issue of support for purchase” of AIDS drugs because the funds are being diverted from AIDS research, prevention and education.
Nearly 7,000 of the estimated 30,000 AIDS patients using AZT are receiving the drug under the program, created by Congress in 1987 and extended for six months last September.
The drug, which has been shown to extend the lives of many AIDS patients, costs about $8,000 a year when taken at full dosage. It is the only drug approved by the government to treat acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
