Badpuppy Gay Today

Tuesday, 06 May 1997

The Human Rights Campaign praised the White House and Congressional budget negotiators today (May 2) for removing the per-capita cap on Medicaid as part of the balanced budget agreement reached.

"The per-capita benefits cap would have severely undermined the ability of Medicaid administrators to meet the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS," said Winnie Stachelberg, HRC's legislative director. "It would have been heartless to balance the federal budget by making it more difficult, if not impossible, for some people living with HIV and AIDS to obtain the new life-prolonging drugs that have given hope to so many."

President Clinton originally proposed the per-capita cap in his fiscal 1998 budget. Last month, the administration proposed a Medicaid expansion pilot project to enable people living with AIDS to retain benefits even if they become well enough to return to work.

Currently, about 50 percent of adult Americans living with AIDS--and 90% of children with the disease--receive their medical coverage through the Medicaid program. More than half a million cases of AIDS have been diagnosed in the United States and over 300,000 men, women and children in communities across this country have died from this disease. AIDS is now the leading cause of death among Americans 25-44.

Congressional sources report the budget agreement reached today still contains cuts of $16 to $17 billion in the Medicaid program. The agreement also reportedly contains approximately $68 billion in cuts to domestic discretionary spending over the next five years. These funds include support for programs in AIDS care, prevention, and research.

"We remain very concerned about how the cuts will be allocated and the reported $68 billion in cuts in discretionary spending," Stachelberg said.

Medicaid is the single largest source of health insurance for people living with AIDS, providing access to physician visits, hospitalization, prescription drugs, home health care and long-term care.

On similar fronts, Kerry Lobel, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, (NGLTF) called upon Sandra L. Thurman, Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy to encourage the Administration to work with Congress to lift the ban on the use of federal funds for needle exchange programs, to oppose H.R. 1062, the regressive legislation introduced by Rep. Coburn, (R-OK), that would, among other things, require states to adopt mandatory HIV testing laws. "Even the National Governors' Association has declared its opposition to this legislation," says Lobel, "and," she continues, "work for full funding for AIDS research, prevention, health care and housing initiatives."