Columbus – On this World AIDS day, Senator Charleta B. Tavares (D-Columbus) calls on the state of Ohio to commit more resources to HIV treatment and prevention and to stop the Ohio Department of Health from imposing rule changes that could restrict access to life saving drugs.
“Unfortunately, the scourge of HIV/AIDS has not diminished in the last 30 years and Franklin County has the highest number of new cases of HIV/AIDS in the state,” said Senator Tavares.
This week a Franklin County judge temporarily stopped the Ohio Department of Health from reducing the number of people eligible for the Ohio HIV Drug Assistance program. The Department had planned to cut eligibility for AIDS patients based on income—from 300 percent of the poverty level to just 100 percent.
“Instead of imposing new restrictions which limit patient access to life saving drugs, the state of Ohio should provide the funding that is needed,” said Senator Tavares. “If resources are scarce it’s because the state makes them scarce through misplaced budget priorities. We have a responsibility to ensure that the public we serve is aware of and involved in the development of policies, rules and guidelines for programming and funding of services with these finite federal dollars. ”
Senator Tavares contends that additional funding is available from either a $23 million Vioxx settlement or the state’s rainy day fund which currently contains $247 million.
Earlier this year, Senator Tavares offered a budget amendment to increase funding for AIDS prevention and treatment by $5.3 million over the next two fiscal years.
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