Demand Full Funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program

November 19, 2009
The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor of California
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, California 95814

RE: Full Funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

We are writing to demand full funding for California's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in FY 2010-2011.

ADAP is the cornerstone of California's public health effort to fight HIV/AIDS. Failure to fully fund the program will leave thousands of Californians at risk for more severe illness and even death. Underfunding could also cause a public health disaster and significantly limit the state's ability to prevent new HIV infections. Reductions in ADAP will cost the state millions more in future health care dollars than any savings realized in the near term. Cuts in ADAP will also increase burdens on our already-taxed emergency rooms and other "safety net\%uDBC0" providers who are not equipped to deal effectively with HIV and AIDS.More than 34,000 low-income uninsured and underinsured Californians depend on ADAP for life-saving medications. Reduction in ADAP services will lead to advanced HIV disease, increased co-morbidities and even premature death for Californians living with HIV.

Medications provided by ADAP can help prevent transmission of HIV. People on effective treatment regimens can reduce their viral load (the amount of HIV detected in the blood) to undetectable levels which makes them less likely to transmit the virus to others. For every new HIV infection we prevent, the state saves an estimated $600,000 in lifetime treatment costs.

California cut essential life-saving state HIV/AIDS programs by some $85 million last year. The cuts vastly reduced the state\%uDBC0\%uDCB6s capacity to prevent, treat and serve the estimated 160,000 Calfornians living with HIV/AIDS. Any cuts to ADAP will leave many living with HIV no access to life-saving drugs and Californians at risk vulnerable to a renewed spread of the virus.

We urge you to show leadership in your FY 2010 -2011 budget proposal by fully funding ADAP. People with HIV and people at risk for HIV must not be asked to pay for state budget cuts with their health and their lives.

Sincerely,

AIDS Emergency Fund
AIDS Legal Referral Panel
AIDS Project Los Angeles
AIDS Service Center
American Academy of HIV Medicine, California Chapter
Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center
Behavioral Health Services, Inc.
Black Coalition on AIDS
California Conference of Local AIDS Directors
California Positive Women's Network
Center for AIDS Research, Educations, and Services of Sacramento
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science: HIV/AIDS Education and Outreach Projects
City of Los Angeles, AIDS Coordinator's Office
City of Pasadena Public Health Department
Common Ground-The Westside Community Center
County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy
Desert AIDS Project
Face to Face/Sonoma County AIDS Network
Foothill AIDS Project
HIV ACCESS Alameda County, CA
HIV Health Services Planning Council-San Francisco
HIV Health Services Planning Council-Sacramento
Immune Enhancement Project
Los Angeles County HIV Drug & Alcohol Task Force
Los Angeles County HIV Mental Health Task Force
Los Angeles County Commission on HIV
Leland House, Catholic Charities CYO
Lutheran Social Services of Northern California
Martin Luther King/Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center - OASIS Clinic
Mental Health America of San Diego County
North County Health Services, Inc.
Northeast Valley Health Corporation
Positive Resource Center
Project Inform
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium
Sonoma County Commission on AIDS
Sonoma County People with AIDS Advocacy Committee/Reconnect Action Committee
STOP AIDS
Strong Consulting
Van Ness Recovery House
Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Disease