Sign-On Letter from SAVE ADAP:

Agencies Urge President Bush to Support the AIDS Drug Assistance Program

Deadline: Noon PST, Friday March 11th
List in formation, email saveadap@atac-usa.org to join.
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March 1, 2005

Dear President Bush and Members of Congress:

The undersigned organizations are writing to urge your support for an increase of $303 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) for Fiscal Year 2006.

ADAP, funded under Title II of the Ryan White CARE Act, provides access to treatment for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS who are uninsured or lack adequate prescription drug coverage. It is the final safety net for Americans who have no other means of accessing HIV medications and a lifeline for approximately 90,000 clients every month.

For some time, however, many state ADAPs have been facing financial difficulties and are unable to meet the needs of those who depend on the program. And while we appreciate the President's ADAP Initiative that is providing medications to people on ADAP waiting lists in ten states, the treatment access crisis remains. According to the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), as of February 9, 2005, twenty states have implemented restrictions to treatment access, including waiting lists in nine states. Eight states are anticipating new or additional restrictions in the next few months.

Meanwhile, the number of people depending on ADAP continues to grow. The Administration has strongly encouraged that all Americans learn their HIV status, and by implementing policies such as the approval and dissemination of the rapid HIV test, the numbers of people being tested are growing. As the ADAP Monitoring Report produced by NASTAD and the Kaiser Family Foundation illustrates, many of these new HIV cases are people who are disproportionately uninsured and low-income and need safety net programs such as ADAP to access treatment that will keep them healthy and productive.

Congress recently approved a $38.7 million increase for ADAP in the FY 2005 appropriations bill (after rescission). While this increase is appreciated, it falls well short of the $217 million increase identified by treatment experts as needed to help alleviate the current ADAP crisis. Therefore, we urge your leadership in providing adequate funding for this lifesaving program, including an emergency supplemental appropriation of at least $150 million to help address immediate need.

In addition, we recognize that access to primary care and support services are a vital component to comprehensive care, and we urge you to also support the highest funding possible for the entire Ryan White CARE Act in the next appropriations process. Flat-funding for other programs in the CARE Act is not acceptable.

Thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely,

List in formation, email saveadap@atac-usa.org to join.
Please provide the following information:
Organization Name
Address
City/State/Zip
Phone
Contact person/Title
email
Deadline: Noon PST, Friday March 11th

SAVE ADAP is a national grassroots coalition of treatment activists and policy advocates working for adequate funding for ADAP at the federal and state levels SAVE ADAP will distribute this letter during our Hill visits on March 15th and 16th , and it will be faxed to all Members and key Administrative officials.

SAVE ADAP