Thousands on HIV drugs desperate amid budget woes

[cali]

By MICHELLE R. SMITH
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Cash-strapped states are cutting back on a program that provides free medicine to people with HIV, leaving thousands of patients to wonder where their drugs will come from and stirring fears of a return to the days when an AIDS diagnosis meant certain death.

At least 19 states have taken such steps as capping enrollment, dropping patients, instituting waiting lists, lowering the income ceiling for eligibility, and no longer covering certain drugs or tests.

The AIDS Drug Assistance Program is funded by the federal and state governments and run by the states. It provides free drugs in all 50 states and U.S. territories. But because people are living longer with HIV and the recession has created more demand for the program, states have been unable to keep up.

"It's very frustrating to be stuck in this position at this age and not feel well and be wondering if I am going to die any differently than the people who I helped die in the '80s," said Stephen Farrar, 55, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who has HIV and is going on Florida's waiting list. "Am I going to be one of those people?"

snip

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_us_aids_drug_funding.html

[LiberalEsto]

1. This is a death sentence

My brother is HIV-positive and poor, and he depends on these medications to survive. I don't know what is happening in New Jersey, where he lives, but with that asshole of a wingnut governor, I am afraid it may not be good.

What a lot of nerve the Repukes have, talking about insurance death panels, when their insane policies have created situations like this.

[cali]

2. This is a clear example of how cutting social funding kills people