Ryan White/Medicaid/Medicare/ADAP

[mewithu]

Why is it that we are sending Billions of dollars overseas to fight HIV/AIDS and cutting funds in our on country for our Infected and disabled HIV/AIDS victims. This is a crime against our on Humanity. Please write comments to your Senators and Congresmen on Congress.org Complain about this and get the Help we need to stay alive in our own country. Thank You

[Miss Philicia]

Why is it that we are sending Billions of dollars overseas to fight HIV/AIDS and cutting funds in our on country for our Infected and disabled HIV/AIDS victims.

Because it makes congregations at mega-churches like Rich Warren's Saddleback Church in conservative Orange Co, CA very, very happy.  His wife is very big on white folk doing penance for ignoring AIDS for 2 decades.  Basically conservative evangelicals (surprisingly) lobbied hard for Bush's foreign AIDS programs, because so many people were dying in Africa that it made their Wal*mart buying asses look like they weren't reading their Bibles.  Bush likes it because it fulfills the political need to pander, but also provides for compassionate legacy enhancement.

So, you see, they've done their good work -- all is right with God.  The fact that Ryan White has been flat-funded the entire time is either irrelevant to them, or they're ignorant of the issue.  There was an article in Poz.com about this couple and I don't recall that angle coming up.  Still, these two seem much nicer than the Falwell's of this world (R.I.P.) so I'd rather have them reserved for future use in domestic HIV program needs.

So sure, write your congressmen.  Hopefully they're Democrats that will listen/vote for it, because not all do that's for sure.  And as the economy continues to tank you'll see less and less political will to fully fund domestic programs like Ryan White -- I hope I'm wrong, of course.

You probably have a local Ryan White planning council, and if you live in an urban area it should be easy to locate -- I think these councils are part of the overall CARE package rules.  Meetings should be open and you can go and state your ideas for what should and should not be cut.  With less funds to go around the tendency is to save these funds for medication/formulary funding, which of course, I agree with.

[Miss Philicia]

Oh, then you read things like this and see that their cuts could be offset greatly by not doling out a huge salary/benefits package to their executive director, which is twice what is normal for a similar position in that area.

It amazes me that someone who directs an HIV/AIDS organization thinks $334,551 was appropriate in the first place.