Governor Perdue Stands Up for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program
4/21/2010 - Equality NC applauds Governor Beverly Perdue for including critical funding for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program in her proposed state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. If adopted by the legislature, the increased funding would re-open the program to those most in need, ensuring access to life-saving medications.
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The program closed to new enrollees and trimmed the list of medicines it provides earlier this year due to increased enrollment and funding cuts.
The Governor's proposal would supplement the current $11 million in state funding for the program with an additional $14 million, allowing the program to reopen to people on the waiting list who are at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level.
"Governor Perdue faced tough decisions in drafting the state budget, and many programs face painful cuts," said Ian Palmquist, Executive Director. "While we hate to see other programs suffer, we applaud the Governor for rightly recognizing that this program is truly a matter of life and death for many low-income North Carolinians and must be among the highest priorities."
The additional funding is not enough to fully restore the program, which served people up to 300 percent of poverty, but the proposal is an important foundation as Equality NC and our partners in the NC AIDS Action Network advocate for legislators to ensure that all North Carolinians who need these medications are able to get them.
