Albuquerque Journal, Friday, March 13, 1998
By Jackie Jadrnak Journal Staff Writer
SANTA FE--Supporters for expanded AIDS/HIV programs can call their glass either half full or half empty after this week's final action on next year's budget.
On one hand, $750,000 will be added to state spending on medications for patients, bringing that budget to about $3 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
But Gov. Gary Johnson vetoed another $750,000 in the budget that would have helped pay for other programs, including one that would help HIV-positive people keep their private insurance coverage.
"I'm very grateful to have the additional $750,000," said Bill Jordan, executive director of the HIV Coordinating Council. "But if we had $1.5 million, we would have been able to do a lot more. ... Much more needs to be done."
With budget expansions, the state Department of Health has been able to keep pace in recent years with increasing costs of the "drug cocktails" used to keep the virus in check, said Don Torres, head of the HIV/AIDS bureau.
The state provides the medications for about 420 New Mexicans now who meet the income criteria and don't have insurance coverage for the drugs, he said. Everyone who is eligible and has applied is being served, with no waiting list for the program, Torres said.
From two years ago to a year ago, the program saw a 50-percent increase in expenditures, but funding kept pace, he said. Right now, the cost for an individual's drug regimen runs $7,000 to $9,000 a year, he said.
The additional $750,000 approved for the program should help pay for patients who are failing to fight AIDS on a three-drug therapy and might need to switch to four drugs, he said. Torres said 20 percent to 25 percent of clients might need the additional drugs.
While the medication program might be fully funded in this next budget, other services are needed, Jordan said.
To help people keep their private insurance coverage, the department has started to pay their premiums, he said. Extra money could have helped subsidize deductibles and co-payments -- costs the insurance doesn't cover, Jordan said.
Noting that taxpayers often pick up the cost when people lose their private insurance, he said, "It's short-sighted to not spend dollars now to save dollars later."
Jordan said advocates also were looking for more money for case management and social support programs, including some targeted services for Native Americans.
And prevention programs need to be expanded, Jordan said, especially to reach young people who are beginning to think of AIDS as a treatable disease instead of a death sentence.
"Those of us who are older know what it is to bury friends and care for them," he said. "Younger people have seen people get better. ... They see the disease in a very different way."