Barbara Lee Introduces HIV/AIDS Emergency Hurricane Relief Act
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) introduced legislation aimed at ensuring continuing treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS who have been displaced by recent hurricanes, as the House of Representatives prepared to go into recess for the holidays.“For people living with AIDS, access to medication and treatment is a life or death issue,” said Lee. “From a public health perspective, we need to prevent the disruption of medication from creating drug resistance. We need to ensure that there is a coherent policy for protecting the most vulnerable and preventing a public health crisis.”
While making a small portion of the people displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, people living with AIDS are among the most vulnerable. Lack of access to medication and treatment, stress and inadequate shelter or food are potentially life threatening considerations for people living with compromised immune systems. There is also concern in the public health community that lack of access to anti-retroviral treatments may lead to drug resistant forms of the virus.
The HIV/AIDS Emergency Hurricane Relief Act, H.R. 4633, authorizes $500 million for a comprehensive, focused response that includes:
- Creating an HIV/AIDS Emergency Response Coordinator in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for coordinating between HHS, FEMA, HUD, agencies of the Public Health Service and state and local governments to ensure the provision of medical care and treatment, including housing and supportive services;
- Establishing cooperative agreements and supplying grants to public and private entities that provide care, treatment, housing, dental and mental health care and support services;
- Supporting the rebuilding of the service provider infrastructure in hurricane affected areas;
- Promoting a public awareness campaign to get people into treatment and avoid HIV drug resistance;
- Exempting affected states from requirements to match Ryan White funds in order to receive federal assistance.
The Katrina and Rita damaged regions rank as some of the country’s most adversely affected areas in terms of HIV/AIDS cases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Texas ranked 4th and Louisiana ranked 10th in the number of reported AIDS cases in 2002. Specifically, the New Orleans region had the highest number of newly diagnosed cases and the second highest HIV/AIDS case rate in the state, while Baton Rouge claimed the region’s highest rate in 2002. In 2001, Harris County, Texas had the largest number of reported AIDS cases.
These HIV/AIDS rates directly correlate to the high number of individuals receiving AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), CARE Act and Medicaid assistance. In June 2003, Texas ranked 4th and Louisiana ranked 9th in the number of people enrolled in ADAP. In 2004, Texas received over $131 million in CARE funds ranking it 4th in the amount of funding it received, while Louisiana ranked 12th. Medicaid assistance in these states is also very large with Texas ranking 3rd and Louisiana ranking 12th in the number of enrollees as of June 2004.
Lee’s accomplishments in promoting effective, bipartisan measures to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and bring treatment to the infected have earned her recognition both at home and abroad as a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Lee was a leader in the bipartisan effort to designate $15 billion for the prevention, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. She authored the bill to establish the framework for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS as well as recently passed legislation to address the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, many of whom are victims of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
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