DESERT AIDS PROJECT LAUDS PASSAGE
OF RYAN WHITE MODERNIZATION ACT

(PALM SPRINGS, CA – December 11, 2006) Passage of the three year, $2.1 billion-annual Ryan White Modernization Act in the waning moments of Congress will allow Desert AIDS Project to continue to care for its 2,200 clients residing in a service area the size of the state of Massachusetts.

“Desert AIDS Project has worked diligently with our community partners and the authors of the legislation, particularly Congresswoman Mary Bono, to ensure that the bill will alleviate the inequities in funding between regional areas,” says D.A.P. Executive Director David Brinkman.

“Ryan White funding has been woefully inadequate, having been flat funded for the past six years. Senator Edward Kennedy’s office has stated that when the Senate reconvenes, the structure of the Ryan White Act will be reviewed. The three-year legislation will give community stakeholders and legislators time to begin to revisit the entire care system as early as late January, according to Senator Kennedy’s office.”

Desert AIDS Project community advocates will also closely monitor the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to ensure that provisions of the bill are implemented fairly and equitably throughout the country. The HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) of HRSA was formed in August 1997 to consolidate all programs funded under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. The CARE Act was signed into law on August 15, 1990 to improve the quality and availability of care for people with HIV/AIDS and their families. Amended and reauthorized in May 1996, and November 2000, the Act is named after the Indiana teenager, Ryan White, who became an active public educator on HIV/AIDS after he contracted the syndrome. He died the same year the legislation was passed.

“Ryan White funds are the payor of last resort,” explains Brinkman. “Forty-four percent of people living with HIV/AIDS receive funding for services through Medicaid/Medi-Cal, and 20% are funded by Medicare. In addition, only 50% of people who are HIV positive are receiving medical care, 25% are receiving no care at all, and 25% are not aware of their status. If the CDC recommendation for routine HIV testing for people ages 13 to 64 is implemented, the medical care system in this country will be taxed beyond its ability to provide treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.”

Desert AIDS Project will continue to advocate on a national and state level for adequate funding to meet the culturally sensitive medical and social service needs of people living with HIV/AIDS where they are being treated, not where they were diagnosed. The new legislation also takes into account people living with HIV as well as those living with AIDS, a major shift from previous legislation.

“We will continue to work closely with Congressman Jerry Lewis and Senator Dianne Feinstein, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, to adequately fund the true cost of treatment for every person living with HIV/AIDS in every part of the country. There are limitations in the bill – for example, no increase in funding for women and children – that need to be evaluated and restructured.”

Desert AIDS Project at the Greenburg-Peet Family Center is the organization in our community where people living with HIV and AIDS can receive comprehensive services to help manage HIV disease. D.A.P. offers primary medical care through its Wells Fargo HIV Health Center. The Project provides widespread education and prevention services for schools, civic organizations, businesses, churches and health organizations throughout the communities it serves. Confidential HIV testing is also provided. For more information, call 760-323-2118 or visit www.desertaidsproject.org .

Information Contact:
Mary Kay Plock, 760-323-2118 ext. 221