P.O. Box 11
Montpelier, VT 05601-0011
(802) 229-5754
Email: VTPWAC@Sover.net
OTHER NEWS
Medicaid is the largest provider of healthcare for people living with
HIV &
AIDS in the U.S.
55% of people living with AIDS, 44% of people living with HIV, and 90%
of
children living with HIV/AIDS get their medication and healthcare from
Medicaid. In 2002, Medicaid spent $7.7 Billion dollars on HIV/AIDS
care, far
more than the amounts spent by Medicare ($2.2 Billion) and Ryan White
($1.9
Billion).
Due to the severe budget crisis facing all the states, ALL but one Medicaid
programs are proposing program restrictions in 2003. Over one million
Americans could lose their Medicaid this year. States are cutting back
their
Medicaid program in several ways:
â Lowering financial eligibility, making less people qualify
for the program;
â Cutting back services and moving people into restrictive
HMOs;
â Limiting access to prescription drugs;
â Imposing higher co-pays;
â Reducing payments to doctors and pharmacies;
Instead of providing additional Federal funding to help out the states,
the
Bush Administration has proposed radical new changes to Medicaid that
would
allow states to cut Medicaid even further.
Under the Proposal, states can choose to continue current programs without
additional federal aid, or to operate their Medicaid programs under
a block
grant. In exchange for short term fiscal relief up frontâmoney
that will have
to be paid back at the end of the decadeâstates participating
in the block
grant option will be given the âflexibilityâ to eliminate
the Medicaid
Entitlement, the heart of this 38-year-old program. People currently
on
Medicaid who qualify in an âoptionalâ category could
lose their coverage.
These include:
â 22% of people living with disabilities, including HIV/AIDS;
â 43% of parents and 20% of kids, with incomes over 100 percent
of the
Federal Poverty Level;
â All pregnant women and parents with incomes above 133 percent
of the
Federal Poverty Level; and
â All women covered under the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment
program.
If the Bush proposal is adopted, the following essential life saving
benefits
and services could be eliminated:
Prescription drugs
Rehabilitative services
Prosthetic devices
Case management
Home health care services
Personal care services
Hospice care
Dental and vision care
Furthermore, the proposal shifts the Federal governmentâs responsibility
to
provide healthcare for the poor and uninsured to the states. There
will be no
additional federal funds in times of rising medical costs, whether
due to
economic downturns, new treatments like T-20, rising epidemics like
Hepatitis
C, or any other factor.
Medicaid cuts will hurt people living with HIV/AIDS. People losing their
Medicaid will be forced to turn to Ryan White and ADAP programs for
their
medication and healthcare. These programs are already stretched to
the limit,
increases in enrollment will lead to program closures and waiting lists,
reduced eligibility, and reduced services. Increases in Medicaid co-pays
will
force people to choose between basic needs of food and shelter, or
life-saving medications. Many will simply fall through the crack and
not get
any services at all.
Join the Medicaid Defense Working Group to Oppose Federal and State
Medicaid
Cuts
Contact Lei Chou, AIDS Treatment Data Network 212-260-8868 ext.21
TheAccessProject@aol.com