johnheys@wvgazette.com
Three West Virginians have died since February while waiting forfree HIV/AIDS drugs from a federally funded drug assistance program.At least fourteen others are still waiting.
The state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program stopped taking newpatients almost seven months ago because the federal funding isn'tenough to cover the costs of their drugs, said the director of WestVirginia's HIV/AIDS/STD program.
'People are now starting to die while they're on the waitinglist,' said Dr. Faisal Khan. 'It is a crisis that will continue.'
Fifteen other states have cut back their drug assistance programsfor people with HIV and AIDS, and others, including Texas andFlorida, are considering doing so, Khan said.
People infected with HIV who don't qualify for Medicaid or otherdrug programs and meet income requirements can get certain anti-retroviral drugs free. The program also provides drugs to fightinfections like pneumonia and tuberculosis, which can develop once aperson's immune system is damaged by the virus.
For patients taking multiple anti-retroviral drugs, taking threeof these drugs costs about $14,000 a year. Some patients must takefour or five.
Jay Adams, an HIV care coordinator with the AIDS Task Force of theUpper Ohio Valley in Wheeling, said the waiting list will likelygrow. He's taken calls from people interested in the drug assistanceprogram from other states looking to move here and from WestVirginians who recently learned they were HIV positive.
'There's no end in sight,' Adams said. 'It's a very seriousproblem.'
In 2002, West Virginia's drug program received about $1 millionfrom the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to buyHIV/AIDS drugs for people who can't afford them. The program alsogets rebates from drug companies to help with drug costs.
If people meet all the program's requirements and have a doctor'sprescription, they can get the drugs they need within days. 'Now,that comes to a screeching halt,' Adams said.
Three-hundred forty people are enrolled in West Virginia's versionof the program, and Khan said the enrollment has been increasing thepast two or three years.
But federal funding for the program isn't linked to how manypeople use it. Instead, federal health officials base the amount ofmoney a state gets on how many AIDS cases are diagnosed in thatstate.
For West Virginia, that number is small compared to other states.But it doesn't include people with HIV who don't yet have full-blownAIDS or people who moved to West Virginia after being diagnosed inanother state.
Drug assistance programs like West Virginia's are struggling asthe federal government urges more HIV testing and a new emphasis onthose who already have HIV or AIDS to prevent the spread of thedisease.
The federal initiative, first announced in April by the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention, could also mean changes infunding.
'There are huge question marks about how this will be funded,'Khan said. If the federal government doesn't provide more funding,Khan said, pulling money from current programs to pay for otherscould be self-defeating.
West Virginia got about $1.8 million from the CDC this year forAIDS prevention efforts, Khan said.
A national group of AIDS directors for U.S. states and territoriesreleased a statement in July calling several parts of the CDC's newplan, including the emphasis on HIV-positive people, 'highlytroublesome to health departments.'
Khan said the 13 community-based groups that work on AIDSprevention efforts in West Virginia are probably safe from directcuts in their funding as a result of the shift in federal priorities.The goals of most of the programs are in line with federalguidelines, he said.
But Khan said cuts are possible in other budget items for thestate's HIV/AIDS/STD program, such as money for travel expenses orinformational brochures for the public. The state is still working onits funding request for next year, which is due in October, Khansaid.
State officials should know by the end of November or earlyDecember how much money they'll be getting from the CDC.
As of June 2002, 554 known people with AIDS were living in WestVirginia, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources.Since 1984, more than 1,200 people with AIDS have been identified inthe state.
Nationwide, about 40,000 new HIV infections have been reportedevery year for about the last 10 years, and as many as 200,000 peoplearound the country have HIV and don't know it, the CDC estimates.
To contact staff writer John Heys, use e-mail or call 348-1254.
