State Program for AIDS, HIV Medication Gets a Cash Infusion

A state program that helps people with AIDS and HIV pay for medication will receive an infusion of funds needed to prevent a service cutoff to 8,500 recipients throughout California.

Funds for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, offered in 61 cities and counties, were in danger of drying up by mid-March because larger counties, including Orange and Los Angeles counties, were running far over budget.

Orange County, which serves about 600 clients, projected it would be $550,000 short of the more than $1.5 million it would need before the fiscal year ends June 30.

But state officials said Thursday that the shortfall will be covered using money from federal grants and rebates from pharmaceutical companies. The program will also be reformed.

The news also was announced at a meeting in Ontario attended by county officials and AIDS activists.

“It was a sigh of relief,” said Brian Sadler, who works with the Orange County HIV advisory council and attended the meeting.

“I’m delighted,” said Thomas Nylund, a member of the Orange County AIDS Planning Commission. “But they need to get working on how to prevent this from happening again next year.”

The program currently provides full or partial monetary assistance to anyone with AIDS or the HIV infection who earns less than $50,000 annually but is unable to receive Medi-Cal aid. Many clients can spend $11,000 or more a year on AIDS medication.

The 9-year-old program’s budget has been sapped by a recent increase in the variety of drugs available to AIDS patients and increased use of its money in general. When the program was established in 1987, AZT and aerosolized pentamidine were the only forms of AIDS medication subsidized by the program. Now, there are 145 medications available.

Sauseda said funding for next year remains uncertain, but a March 5 meeting has been scheduled to discuss ways of making the program more cost-effective. Among options being considered by state officials is reducing the eligibility level to those earning less than $28,00 annually.

Administrators also might scrutinize applications more closely to screen out recipients who have insurance and are able to purchase their own medication.

But Ron Taylor, who oversees the Orange County program, said many people diagnosed with AIDS or HIV are often discriminated against by their insurers once they reveal their condition.

“We have to face it,” he said. “It’s still a bad environment for these people.”