Georgia awarded $65.6 million in AIDS money

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program on Monday awarded $65.6 million to Georgia, providing a major source of funding for people living with the disease who are in need or have no health insurance.

The announcement of Ryan White money always has been a big moment among groups that provide health services to people with HIV or AIDS, but this year some feared the declining economy would reduce funding at a time when more people have lost jobs and health coverage.

Instead, Georgia will receive about $2 million in additional funds.

"It's an exciting moment," said Jeff Cheek, a Fulton County health administrator.

Fulton County received $20.3 million, an increase of $1.7 million over last year, to be distributed among the 20-county metro area.

The $20 million is  virtually all the funding the region receives for HIV and AIDS care. It will be used to pay for medications, transportation for medical visits, food and mental health services, and provide primary care in clinics in Fulton, DeKalb and other metro counties.

In addition, the $20 million was awarded because Atlanta is among the top 10 metro areas in the country with people who have HIV or AIDS. Cheek said the metro area comprises about 70 percent of the state's total cases.

"We are the safety net," Cheek said. "We're seeing more and more people who are no longer employed and don't qualify for Medicaid and have no insurance."

The Georgia portion was part of $1.8 billion in Ryan White grants awarded Monday across the country.

"The care and services these grants support will help Americans living with HIV/AIDS to live longer, healthier lives," said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

AIDGwinnett, which received $492,304, relies on Ryan White funding for about half of its budget. For many peopl who have the disease and inadequate finances, the clinic is a health resource of last resort, executive director Larry Lehman said.

The typical person who seeks help is younger than in the past, and many of them survive on low-paying jobs that are quickly lost. The clinic served 600 people last year and expects that number to rise to 760 this year, Lehman said.

Ryan White was an Indiana teenager with hemophilia who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. He fought AIDS-related discrimination and helped educate the nation about his disease. White died on April 8, 1990, at 18, a few months before Congress passed the bill that bears his name.