New York HIV Planning Council To Investigate Reduction in Federal Ryan White CARE Act Funding for New York City
The HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council of New York on Thursday voted to begin investigating the reasons behind a $14 million reduction in New York City's allotment of federal Ryan White CARE Act funds, Long Island Newsday reports (Ramirez, Long Island Newsday, 4/4). HHS this year awarded New York City 12% less than last year in federal Ryan White CARE Act funds, which was the largest reduction nationwide. Although the allocation of funds based on the number of AIDS cases in New York City increased, the allocation of supplemental funds based on severity of need decreased from $48 million last year to $32 million this year (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/3). The council, a 50-member panel that decides how to distribute Ryan White funds, blamed the city's health department for the cut. HIV/AIDS advocates and public officials have said that the department's application for funding was "tardy and poorly prepared," according to Newsday. However, Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden defended the application, saying, "If you find problems with the application, let's use that to make sure next year's application is better. But my take is that absolutely nothing in the application justifies this cut." He also said that city officials are discussing with federal officials how to restore the funds. Joe Pressley, a council member, said that Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) should "fix this hole that I think he created," adding, "New York City lags woefully behind other cities in the proportion of tax dollars devoted to AIDS." In a separate move, City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (D) filed a formal complaint about the cut with the federal government, Newsday reports (Long Island Newsday, 4/4).
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