Proposal to Cut Wait for AIDS Patients Blocked
For the second consecutive week, conservative members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors blocked a proposal to reduce the five-month waiting period for first-time AIDS patients at County-USC Medical Center.
Supervisor Ed Edelman proposed shortening the wait by using $500,000 that has been set aside to staff an AIDS outpatient clinic scheduled to open at the medical center in April. But conservatives Pete Schabarum and Mike Antonovich blocked the effort last week, arguing that by using the funds, the county may not have the money to hire staff when the clinic opens.
On Tuesday, Department of Health Services Director Robert Gates told the board he had learned that the county would be receiving $4 million in two to three months from the federal government for AIDS care. Peter McDermott, a member of the advisory AIDS commission, suggested that the board immediately allocate the $500,000, but Schabarum and Antonovich were unwilling to vote to allocate county funds until the federal funds arrive.
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