[W]hat the Bush proposal doesn't do is discuss what the impact of these massive funding shifts would be on the communities that lose money. Huge cuts in health care and essential support and care services will take place in these communities, and the impact will be catastrophic for many people living with HIV/AIDS. |
In short, they propose taking decision-making over from participatory community [bodies] and putting it into the hands of local bureaucrats. |
More people living with HIV/AIDS get their health care from Medicaid than any other federal program. Cuts to Medicaid and increased user costs for Medicare recipients will have an enormous ripple effect on HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs designed to serve as the payer of last resort. |
Rather than getting information about the incidence or prevalence of HIV, what it really produces is data about the incidence and prevalence of HIV testing. |
The Bush proposal would transfer tens of millions (perhaps hundreds of millions) of dollars from urban areas, who are currently spending them on essential services, to other areas. |
There are many immediate, midterm and long-term issues that will literally be life and death for people living with HIV/AIDS. |