State Must Reinvest Savings in HIV Prevention & Services to Link HIV-Positive People to Medical Care
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Governor Pat Quinn released a proposed $35.6 billion state budget on March 6 that would reduce state HIV/AIDS funding by $4.27 million, or 16 percent.
“Thanks to President Obama, many people with HIV will gain new health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, providing partial relief to the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP),” said David Ernesto Munar, President/CEO of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. “Illinois has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reinvest ADAP savings to fund HIV prevention and service programs that will reduce new HIV cases and improve health outcomes.”
Under the Governor’s proposed budget, total state HIV spending would drop from $26.23 million in FY13 to $21.75 million in FY14. AFC has learned from sources at the Illinois Department of Public Health that the funding cut would come from ADAP, which provides life-saving medications to people with the disease.
