Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San
Francisco Chronicle
JULY 17, 2000, MONDAY, FINAL; EAST BAY
EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A20
LENGTH: 813 words
HEADLINE:
Too Much AIDS Money Goes To Bureaucrats, Critics Say
BYLINE: Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer
DATELINE: CONCORD
BODY:
As
AIDS health-care providers and other community members meet in Oakland in the
coming weeks to discuss how to distribute federal money for people living with
the disease, there is growing criticism that too much of the money is going to
feed a bloated bureaucracy.
The Ryan White Care Act,
authorized by Congress in 1990, brought $6.7 million to Contra
Costa and Alameda counties last year, and this year officials are expecting a
similar amount.
The money is distributed widely to nonprofit
organizations and other community health-care groups to fight the spread of the
disease and provide patients access to health care.
Across the nation,
the act provides $6.1 billion. San Francisco gets about
$32 million, but that amount could be reduced under a proposal
being considered in Congress to distribute more of the funds to outlying areas.
In the East Bay, critics -- many of them long-term survivors of the
disease -- say too much of the money is going to administration even though the
act itself limits to 10 percent the amount that can go to management.
John Iverson, who has had full-blown AIDS since 1991 and has been on the
Oakland Ryan White Health Services Planning Council since 1998, said he would
like to see more of the funds go to case management and emergency assistance
like food vouchers and transportation.
"I view my role on that council
as one of damage control," Iverson said in an interview last week. "I'm trying
to keep as much of the money as possible in direct services to people with
AIDS."
Health-care providers acknowledge that there is room for
improvement in the way funds are allocated, but they deflected the harshest
criticisms. They said they are following the letter of the law, which says they
must use the money to provide emergency services to those with the most dire
need.
"We can ponder it all day and all night, but the bottom line is
we're responding appropriately," said Hazel Wesson, executive director of the
AIDS Community Network in Richmond. "We're tweaking the system, providing food
bags and alternative mental-health therapies. Where else can you find a
therapist who will come to you? . . . I don't think we can fix it all."
Kevin W. Johnson, a Concord resident who has the disease, said the
system is lacking in client advocacy.
"In the beginning of this
epidemic, there would have been someone to help someone (with AIDS) through the
hoops," he said. "Now you call New Connections for help, and they tell you to
call their public-relations person. I'm amazed at how you can afford all this.
We need support for those of us who are still here."
Iverson, of
Oakland, helped found ACT UP East Bay, an AIDS activist organization. He said he
constantly gets calls from people looking for referrals he believes should be
provided by agencies funded by the Ryan White Care Act --
information about monthly food vouchers and transportation assistance, as well
as help with paying for utilities and rent.
Linda Russell-Sanders, a
member of the Contra Costa HIV/ AIDS Consortium, which met last week to decide
how Contra Costa's funding will be distributed, acknowledged that agencies could
improve in providing referrals when they can't meet the needs of a client.
"It can feel alienating, the way it's laid out," said Russell-Sanders,
substance-abuse coordinator for New Connections, a countywide agency. "We know
Ryan White funding is money of last resort. We could do more, however, to have
information available on some of the resources outside our system."
Contra Costa AIDS program director Christine Leivermann said funds can
be set aside to create support groups for people living with AIDS. People could
discuss how their bodies are interacting with the HIV-combatting drug
"cocktails," many of which have harmful side effects.
Her council
decided Tuesday to allocate more money to mental-health services and
psychological evaluations, increase the amount of protein in food bags and
improve case management and outreach.
LeRoy Blea, chairman of the Ryan
White Health Services Planning Council in Oakland, the umbrella group for
Alameda and Contra Costa counties, welcomed the criticism but said the system is
set up to help with basic life needs, such as paying for utilities, health care
and rent.
"It's money for people who are most profoundly ill and lack
resources, people who are facing issues like poverty, substance abuse and the
danger of becoming homeless," Blea said. "From a good health-planning
standpoint, we're going to continue that effort. That's not to say we can't
bring in more resources for (long-term survivors)."
The Ryan White
Health Services Planning Council will meet August 23 to decide the allocations
for Contra Costa and Alameda counties. For information, call (510) 873-6500.
E-mail Christopher Heredia at herediac@sfgate.com.
LOAD-DATE: July 17, 2000 
