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Congressional Testimony
March 02, 2000
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1880 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY March 02, 2000 MIKE KENN CHAIRMAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF FULTON
COUNTY SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS AIDS
FUNDING
BODY:
Testimony by Mike Kenn Chairman,
Board of Commissioners of Fulton County, Georgia Before the United States Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Regarding the Reauthorization
of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE)Act of 1990, as
amended by the Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 1996 Pub. L.
104-146 March 2, 2000 Mr. Chairman and other members of this Committee, I thank
you for the opportunity to come before you to urge your support for the
reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act'. The health care
and related supportive services provided through the CARE Act are critically
important to our Citizens who are living with HIV/AIDS. For tens of thousands of
men, women, and children in this country, the CARE Act literally means the
difference between 'life or death. Local governments might otherwise be unable
to financially sustain these life extending services without the federal
assistance provided by Title 1. The HIV epidemic in America continues with
unyielding ferocity, and the epicenters remain in metropolitan areas. As the
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Fulton County, Georgia, 1 serve as the
Chief Elected Official of the 20 county Atlanta Eligible Metropolitan Area which
is home to 71 % of Georgia's citizens who are living with HIV/AIDS. With over
6,600 cumulative reported cases of AIDS, and an estimated 8,000 additional cases
of HIV disease, eve community in eve part of our EMA has been affected. In FY
98, nearly 9,000 clientS2 were enrolled in our Title 1 programs. In our EMA, 70%
of reported cases of HIV/AIDS are among people of color. It is important to note
that 70% of the people served via our Title I programs in 1998 were also people
of color. CARE Act funded services augment those programs supported by other
local, state, and federal sources. Without the CARE Act, services for these
clients, and many more as yet unidentified, would place an unmanageable burden
upon our public health clinics and emergency rooms. The cost for the provision
of these vital services would be forbidding and simply could not be assumed by
our locally supported health systems. The situation in Georgia replicates
patterns across this country. Since 1991, the number of communities eligible for
emergency assistance under Title I has grown from 16 to an astounding 51. These
51 AIDS disaster relief communities are home to about 74% of the nation's people
living with HIV disease. The improved clinical management of HIV disease and the
widespread use of treatment therapies have resulted in dramatic reductions in
HIV-related opportunistic infections and deaths. However, the number of people
becoming newly infected with HIV has remained relatively constant. Consequently
more people than ever are in need of care. A 1998 study by the CAEAR 3 Coalition
revealed that between 1995 and 1997 the average number of HlV/AlDS patients
seeking services under the CARE Act increased 43.5 percent; thus, there is no
respite in sight from the pressing health emergency facing America. Just as the
HIV/AIDS epidemic rages on, so also must our efforts to respond to this public
health crisis: Title I of the CARE Act is the key to our national and local
partnership. Local decision making is the very foundation upon which Title I of
the CARE Act is based -- and this local decision making works. The Act requires
the establishment of a health services planning council in each Title I EMA with
local responsibility for addressing needs. As a result of these individualized
processes and locally identified gaps in services, the programs implemented by
the people of Kansas City might differ from those created by the people of
Seattle... Baltimore... Minneapolis-St. Paul ... Hartford ... or Boston. The
planning council process represents a welcomed departure from top-down models of
health care planning and service delivery that often fail to address local
service needs. Local decision Cities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief making
ensures a rapid disbursement of funds, community participation, and grantee
accountability. It continues to be the best and most responsive system to
identify and remedy gaps in services and barriers to access at the local level.
The CARE Act provides a vital continuum of care for people with HIV and AIDS,
and Title 1 is the safety net for thousands of low-income people. Title I has a
long-standing commitment to setting a high priority for HIV health care' and
increasing access to HIV services. This commitment to primary health care
services will continue with the emergence of more effective treatments for HIV
itself, as well as HIV-related opportunistic infections. The flexibility of the
planning process has allowed our communities to quickly and efficiently respond
to emerging treatment strategies and to provide increasingly high quality and
cost effective HIV care and supportive services. As a result, many people with
HIV disease are living longer, with more productive and healthier lives and many
have been able to re-enter the workforce. In conclusion, it is imperative to the
taxpayers and to the people living with HIV/AIDS in Title I communities that
this "contract" between the federal government and local jurisdictions be
reauthorized by September 3O, 2000. The absence of the CARE Act would lead to
disintegration of vital programs which ensure access to critically important
systems of care for thousands of our citizens. I thank the Chairman and this
Committee for allowing me to be here with you today. 4 in FY 98, 56% of
Atlanta's Title I funding was allocated to Health Care Services; 25% to
Medications; 7% to Case Management; 7% to Support Services; and 5% to
Administration, Planning and Program Support.
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 2000 
