Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San
Francisco Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 15, 2000, FRIDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A6
LENGTH: 259 words
HEADLINE:
Compromise On AIDS Plan Benefits S.F.;
Ryan White fund cut is less than
House bill
BYLINE: Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle
Washington Bureau
DATELINE: Washington
BODY:
San Francisco will suffer a smaller cut in
the money it receives from a major AIDS program than was approved by the House
in July, after a compromise yesterday in a House-Senate conference committee.
A formula change in the original bill would have cut San Francisco's
share of special grant money under the Ryan White Care Act,
which helps pay for AIDS care and treatment, as much as 25 percent over five
years, or about $10.2 million.
Under the compromise
bill, the city will lose 15 percent of its allotment, or about
$7.5 million over five years.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San
Francisco, hailed the smaller cut as a major victory.
"We're very
pleased," Pelosi said. "We'll have to make up for it in appropriations, but
$7.5 million is a lot easier to make up."
The provision
most affecting San Francisco would allow funding levels to drop by as much as 15
percent if the number of AIDS cases in any city declines sharply.
The
formula change is designed to shift Ryan White funding to areas where the
disease is rising and to target HIV infections rather than full-blown AIDS
cases.
San Francisco now receives roughly twice as much money per AIDS
case, roughly $5,000 a year, as other cities, even though the
epidemic has spread to other areas of the country and other demographic groups,
particularly minorities and women.
Rep. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma
Republican and a physician, had insisted on the changes, arguing that federal
money should be based on where the disease is going, rather than where it has
been.
LOAD-DATE: September 15, 2000
