April 28, 2008

Two New York Counties Win Back HIV Funds

Two New York counties—Nassau and Suffolk—have won a lawsuit against the United States Department of Health and Human Services that will restore more than $1 million in previously cut HIV/AIDS funding to them, Newsday reports (newsday.com, 4/28).

This ruling overturns a 2006 decision by the federal government that the counties no longer qualified for the annual amount of Ryan White HIV/AIDS funding they’d received since 1990.

The counties did not record the required amount of HIV/AIDS cases over the past five years to be considered an “eligible metropolitan area,” which would have retained their prior funding levels. According to the Newsday article, Nassau and Suffolk reported about 1,500 new cases of HIV during the past five years; eligible metropolitan areas are generally defined as recording 2,000 or more new cases.

However, the funding was restored because an amendment passed by Congress in 1996 said that all regions that fit the description of an eligible metropolitan area that year would retain their funding in future years.

Search: Nassau, Suffolk, Long Island

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Previous Comments:

Michael P., Fort Worth TX, 2008-04-29 20:55:25
as the Bush/Cheney Regime continues to ,"starve the beast" we as HIV people will continue to fullfill our basic needs in more and more self sustaing ways. God be with us ALL!

Greg747, Patchogue, LI, 2008-04-29 14:01:25
And another correction to your story - our region had 1,505 new AIDS diagnoses! If you count HIV and AIDS cases, then LI has over 6,000 PWLHAs, more than 24 full-blown States! We were being penalized for having too few people convert from HIV to AIDS - not the other way around! This is just one more sad example of how screwed up the Treatment Modernization Act is - BRING BACK THE CARE ACT!

Greg747, Patchogue, LI, 2008-04-29 13:56:50
Well, you have the story half-right! I am one of the plaintiffs who sued on behalf of HIV support services that were shut-down completely by the arbitrary reading of the Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act of 06. Long Island did meet the requirements set out by Congress - failing only one test of several! What is worse is the severe restrictions imposed by the feds which incapacitate our ability to provide for basic human nees such as housing, warmt and food! ACT-UP!