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March 9, 2007
RYAN WHITE PART A AWARDS ANNOUNCED
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Memphis, Elvis' hometown, is one of five new TGAs eligible for Ryan White funds |
After several weeks of swirling rumors, speculation, and litigation, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) officially announced the Part A (formerly known as Title I) awards for the Ryan White CARE Act for Fiscal Year 2007 on Monday. The announcement of the formula-based grants did little to calm the nerves of advocates anxiously awaiting word on the Act’s supplemental awards and Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) dollars.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 changed funding and eligibility standards, which led to several areas getting smaller slices of the $376 million Part A funding pie this year. Advocates say most cuts aren’t surprising because many areas were able to estimate their awards before the official announcement.
“We are all really waiting for the fallout from the announcement of the other awards sometime in April because there is a diminishing pool of available dollars,” says Patricia Bass, a consultant with the Philadelphia Department of Health and a former board chair of the CAEAR Coalition. Because more areas than ever are competing for Ryan White funds this year, there are fewer dollars to go around.
Winners and losers
Eligible metropolitan areas (EMA) were flat-funded or received slight increases or decreases this year. For a comparison of last year’s awards to this year’s, click here.
While New York City’s award of $74.8 million is up a bit from last year, it received about the same percentage of the total available funds for EMAs. Big Apple advocates still anticipate a loss when competitive supplemental awards are announced.
In terms of decreases from last year’s awards, San Francisco was hit hardest, losing over $772,000. Funding for both Hartford, Conn., and New Haven, Conn., were cut by $350,000 each. As the Update reported last week, Long Island officials are suing the feds over a reclassification of their area from an Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA) to a Transitional Grant Area (TGA) that led to a drop in funding of nearly $100,000.
To be a TGA, areas must show 1,000 new AIDS cases over the past five years as well as a population over 50,000. (EMAs must have over 2,000 new AIDS cases in the past five years.) Five new regions met the requirements for TGA status: Baton Rouge, LA; Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill in N.C. and S.C.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Memphis; and Nashville. Their awards will be announced later this month.
Looking ahead
In an effort to absorb the widespread cuts expected when the rest of the Ryan White funding is announced, the CAEAR Coalition is urging people to contact their Congressional representatives and tell them to increase funds for vital Ryan White programs. Within the next week, members of Congress must submit their funding recommendations for FY2007 to the Appropriations Committee.
“I’m cautiously optimistic about the Part A funds,” says Christine Campbell, director of national advocacy and organizing for Housing Works. “But the bottom line is that there’s not enough money in the system to provide full care to everyone who needs it. It will be interesting to see how these grants interact with supplemental and MAI dollars, which are more competitive. When the other awards come out, we’ll have a better sense of the future—and where we need to fight more.”
Save Ryan White! Contact your Representative and Senator today at 888-802-1207, and demand that they support an increase in funds for these vital programs. For more information, visit CAEAR's website.