| Federal HIV/AIDS Funding Coming to South Carolina |
| (Columbia) - Brian Morgan has been HIV
positive for eight years. He's a client advocate who works with lots
of patients who can't afford medicines they need. Morgan said, "We can't even help people get the bare necessities of life. We're not even talking about healthcare." Congress approved a bill to reauthorize the "Ryan White Care Act," to help low income HIV/AIDS patients pay for medications. It give advocates like Brian some hope. Still, there's no word on how much is coming our way. Currently, there are more than 300 people on a waiting list who can't afford drugs. Morgan said, "Today we got news that a 4th person has died while waiting to get life saving medications." Rep. Joe Neal said, "The allocation from the Ryan White Act will not completely cover all the medicines needed in South Carolina." Neal is pushing South Carolina legislators...to allocate 8-10 million dollars of the 2008 budget to this growing problem. Neal said, "In South Carolina, we're primarily depended upon federal dollars and as a result we're falling behind in our ability to stop the spread of the disease." Brian Morgan is taking a drug called "Atripla." He says it's very expensive. "A one month supply is $1500.00, if I had no insurance." Many of his clients don't have insurance, which is why he's hoping federal and state funds will pour in sooner than later. Brian asks, "How many people are going to have to die before everybody wakes up and realizes this affects us all?" The amount of federal funding that South Carolina will receive won't be decided until Congress reconvenes early next year. To find out more about the "Ryan White Care Act," you can visit: the Ryan White Care Act website.a> |