Sequestration Will Cut $659 Million from Domestic HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Programs

Lifesaving AIDS treatment access eliminated for over 15,000; thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS lose housing support and risk homelessness; more Americans at risk for hepatitis infection.

The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) Urge Congress and the President to Prevent Devastating Cuts.

Washington, DC – Today, NMAC, amfAR, and NASTAD released two issue briefs outlining $659 million in automatic spending cuts to HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis programs that will occur as the result of sequestration. These are federal programs that provide life-saving care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis and work to prevent new infections and reduce health care costs over time. Unless Congress and the President come to an agreement on a different way to reduce the federal deficit, these cuts will automatically occur on January 2, 2013.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are an estimated 50,000 new HIV infections each year, approximately 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and about 5.3 million people living with viral hepatitis in the United States.

“These cuts will have a devastating impact and will be yet another blow for low-income individuals and people of color living with HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis at a time when we can least afford it. Investing in our health care infrastructure will reduce long-term health care costs for chronic conditions like HIV and viral hepatitis, is the right thing to do, and is critical if we are to end these twin epidemics” concluded Kali Lindsey, Director of Legislative and Public Affairs at NMAC.

“Sequestration will undermine everything we’ve done to accomplish the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) goals of reducing HIV incidence and death,” said Chris Collins, Vice President and Director of Public Policy at amfAR. “Budget cuts through sequestration would bring crucial life-saving research at the National Institutes of Health to a halt, squandering enormous scientific opportunities including AIDS vaccine and cure research.”

“Our nation’s health departments already have to make tough decisions about cutting jobs and critical health services. Now more than ever, we need our nation to commit to providing state health departments with the resources necessary to end the HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis epidemics once and for all. Supporting the critical infrastructure and the work of health departments makes both public health and economic sense,” commented Terrance Moore, Director of Policy and Health Equity at NASTAD.

The estimated human impact of sequestration on domestic HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis programs means:

• 15,708 people will lose access to crucial life-saving drugs
• 5,000 households will lose housing support
• 460 AIDS research grants will be eliminated
• 412 people living with HIV will not be diagnosed
• $65.2 million in HIV prevention services will be cut
• $1.6 million in viral hepatitis prevention services will be cut

These cuts amount to an 8.2 percent reduction in funding for most non-defense discretionary programs based on a calculation using fiscal year 2012 spending levels.

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The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) represents a coalition of faith based and community based organizations as well as AIDS service organizations advocating and delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color nationwide. Since 1987, NMAC has developed leadership in communities of color through a variety of advocacy campaigns, public policy education programs, national conferences, research programs, capacity building, technical assistance and trainings, and digital and electronic resource materials. For more information visit www.nmac.org.

The National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), founded in 1992, is a nonprofit national association of state and territorial health department HIV/AIDS program directors who have programmatic responsibility for administering HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis health care, prevention, education, and supportive services programs funded by state and federal governments. For more information, visit www.NASTAD.org.

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR), is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment, education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $340 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide. For more information, please visit www.amfAR.org.