* From the Illinois Department of Public Health…
* Emily Miller was not amused and responded with actual facts…
* From an AIDS Foundation of Chicago report on the impasse and HIV services…
HIV Providers in Illinois have been feeling the drastic, statewide effects of the budget impasse for some time now.
• From July - December 2015, grantee HIV testing from the Quality of Life Fund decreased 62%, resulting in a 68% decrease in the number of positives found;
• Direct grant testing decreased 59%, with a 66% reduction in positives found;
• Regional Grant testing decreased 35% with a 70% reduction in positives found, all compared to the same period in 2014;
• In March 2016, the Families and Children’s AIDS Network stopped providing prevention services in Regions 2, 7, and 8;
• Central Illinois Friends of PWA stopped implementing Effective Behavioral HIV Prevention Interventions;
• Sisters and Brothers laid off both its Deputy Director and its Interventions Manager, impacting service delivery in several regions, and cut their Region 5 services to just one day per week;
• Fifth Street Renaissance in Springfield laid off four full-time and 3 part-time positions and reduced services;
• Jefferson County laid off two staff, reduced service hours, and have indicated they may need to close their HIV prevention program;
• Bethany Place’s (Belleville) Prevention Coordinator and entire prevention staff resigned due to non- payment;
• Macoupin County laid off their main prevention staff;
• Outreach and testing that is geared and targeted towards populations with the highest rate of new HIV infections have been significantly reduced, due largely to agencies not having the resources to conduct thoughtful, strategic targeting. As a result, suburban Cook County has seen a significant reduction in the amount of newly identified HIV-positive individuals;
Even with passage of the 2016 stopgap spending plan, which is detailed below, some HIV service providers will only receive 65% of their funding.
• HIV tests in suburban Cook County have fallen by 35% since the start of the budget impasse;
• The Jackson County Health Department has ceased providing HIV testing to recently released inmates in downstate Illinois;
• PrEP 4 Illinois, a program that was intended to cover costs of PrEP for those who required financial assistance, was appropriated $1 million in the FY 15 budget; however, that program was ultimately zeroed out by the incoming Rauner administration. Canceling the PrEP4Illinois program deprived Illinoisans of financial assistance to access this game-changing HIV prevention medication;
• The AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) has been forced to rely solely on federal funds to operate;
• In June 2016, Center on Halsted, Illinois’ largest provider of state-funded HIV testing, had received no state payment for HIV testing. The organization was uncertain if they would be able to continue to provide services without a budget in place […]
Here in Illinois, funding for the HIV Lump Sum, which includes the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and HIV prevention, treatment and education services, has been funded at roughly the same level since FY 2011, with the amount wavering between $25 and $29 million. Since Governor Rauner came into office, he has proposed merely $20 million for FY 16 and $18 million for FY 17. Every new HIV case prevented saves the state nearly $400,000 per person in lifetime medical costs , so this drastic cut to preventive and treatment services has the potential to make the situation worse.
We are at a unique time in the HIV epidemic following the advent of biomedical interventions like PrEP, which can prevent new infections. But effective means of HIV prevention requires a commitment from the state, and Illinois has not included funding for PrEP4Illinois program in proposed budgets since Governor Rauner used his executive authority to remove $1 million in PrEP assistance from the FY 15 budget.
Ugh!
- Norseman - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:02 pm:
Correction
The IDPH twitter discussion about black HIV has been re-titled “Black HIV Rant”
What do they say about letting sleeping dogs lie.
- AC - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:02 pm:
These are all willful acts, from holding the budget hostage for so called reforms, to removing funding from the budget.
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:10 pm:
Emily, you’re great. Well done.
- Saluki - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:15 pm:
So I suppose the IDPH should not have hosted this discussion? The points are well made by Ms. Miller, but how does that help anything?
- Earnest - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:19 pm:
A pity. If you care about people, the human cost is heartbreaking. If you care about money, prevention is cheaper hand HIV treatment. If you don’t care about people or money, what do you care about? Maintaining your political power? Crushing unions? Only yourself? Not winning on your terms? I got nothin’.
- morningstar - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:19 pm:
Saluki - maybe it helps because Ms. Miller points out the charade perpetuated by the State when it tries to carry on “business as usual.” I sincerely believe that there is a good portion of the Illinois populace which does not recognize the dire straits in which social service and health agencies have been placed.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:26 pm:
===So I suppose the IDPH should not have hosted this discussion?===
So I suppose you think we shouldn’t point out the agency’s hypocrisy?
Get your own blog.
- Honeybear - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:36 pm:
I’ve got friends over at IDPH. Guys they are operating on a shoestring and prayer. Yes it’s inadequate but it seems like people are blasting at the workers trying to do something that is low cost. How about a caveat thanking the workers but blasting the Rauner administration. IDPH is just trying to do something with no resources. State workers get blamed enough.
- Goner - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 4:56 pm:
I see the hypocrisy point of view, given that there is little funding which is beyond IDPH’s control, a twitter chat may be IDPH doing what it can with no money. Yes, HIV prevention requires money, but part of the fight is getting a message out as well.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 5:00 pm:
===part of the fight is getting a message out as well. ===
That “message” is pure lip service. Notice the cuts above?
- Matthew Vernau - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 5:09 pm:
Thank you Emily and Rich for the hard truth. The other part of the problem is we have about 33 billion to cover 40 plus billion of wants and needs. What do we cut? How do we cut? The truth tells us what the risks and costs are. Where do we balance? How many votes can we find for a tax increase?
- Signal and Noise - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 5:15 pm:
You know what cures HIV? Redistricting reform.
- Goner - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 6:23 pm:
==That “message” is pure lip service. Notice the cuts above?==
Don’t get me wrong the fact there is no budget is just poor governance and as Emily Miller consistently points out, there are lives at stake. But what is IDPH supposed to do? Go dark and not make any attempts to publicise an important issue? For two days now you’ve given Ms. Miller a pulpit to criticize tweets from IDPH about budget issues beyond their control. At what point does the administration say to IDPH “no more” tweets?
Rich, you know your blog is quite influential and you know the administration reacts to what you post, but in this case this is reckless criticism of a public body trying to prevent a disease.
- DuPage Dave - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 6:44 pm:
What is IDPH supposed to do? Protect the public health.
If the administration won’t fund necessary services, somebody needs to tell the truth and walk the plank if they have to.
The Rauner people need to learn that they can’t just spin everything. Stand up and govern the state, Governor. Show some leadership. It’s not all about scoring points. It’s about protecting lives. Get on board, Bruce.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 7:22 pm:
I believe Rauner’s view point is there will be less individuals alive to vote against him.
Bitter but true.
- Property of IDOC - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 9:13 pm:
No matter which agency fails, not matter which services are forced to close, no matter who depends on them-even if it’s life or death…the obvious truth is rauner doesn’t gaf.
It’s about him, his friends and his money.
- jimbo - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 10:05 pm:
The question I ask is how did the NAACP & Black churches allow themselves to be co-opted. Shouldn’t they be protesting for funding that will help all the people Emily & Rich have noted need help?
- swIFT taylor - Wednesday, Feb 1, 17 @ 11:08 pm:
LOL signal at 515. I just wanted to add a thought to this: Is the discussion a therapy group of any kind? Is it a place where scared black folks with HIV or think they might have HIV can go to get some questions answered? No one can deny the programs have been slashed. I just wonder, are there maybe some actually well meaning folks drawing a state paycheck (for now) that are using Twitter and other social tools to do their part? To do their job? What staffer that is in charge of designing hash tag memes can influence the end of this impasse?
- worked in HIV - Thursday, Feb 2, 17 @ 8:10 am:
IDPH HIV funding is provided by CDC; however, CDC requires that states meet their mandatory minimums for compliance. IL is not meeting its state mandated requirements per fed law. It’s cheaper to test & prevent than to treat post positive HIV diagnosis.