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Related links Health Resources Services Administration Department of Health and Human Services |
Government grants to help poor, uninsured
Posted
4-17-2000 Washington. Nearly $800 million in grants have been approved to help poor and uninsured HIV and AIDS patients, the Department of Health and Human Services announced last week. The funds, a component of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, will be distributed throughout all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories, and will help more than 78,000 of the poorest victims of the disease, the HHS estimates. "The Ryan White CARE Act is meant to be the safety net," said Tom Flavin, spokesman for the Health Resources and Services Administration, which administers the grants. The grants, funded under Title II of the CARE Act, provide millions for the states most affected. Funding is determined using a formula that benefits cities with populations of more than 500,000 and more than 2,000 active AIDS cases, Flavin said. New York was awarded almost $146.5 million, Florida $84 million, and Texas nearly $57 million. The most striking feature of the grants is the proportion of the funding earmarked for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which has grown tenfold since 1996. This year, ADAP grants total $528 million, up from $52 million in 1996. More than $74 million of California’s $106.5 million award is designated as an ADAP grant. The announcement was made less than a month after critical comments by Sandra Thurman, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, chided Congress for being slow to renew the CARE Act despite bipartisan support. The act has come under fire from Rep. Tom Coburn, MD, R-Okla., who said the grant formulas discriminate against rural communities and states. A recent audit by the General Accounting Office ordered by Coburn upheld the current formulas. Flavin said HRSA retains its authority to distribute money under the CARE Act, although Congress has yet to renew the act beyond this year.
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