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Written by Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
May 6, 2010
A measure approved by the Wisconsin Legislature could bring more than $1 million annually in new federal HIV/AIDS money to Wisconsin. The dollars will supplement the state’s funding for the care and treatment of Medicaid patients.
After two years of stagnant funding and with a record number of people in Wisconsin living with HIV/AIDS, the resources provided by the HIV Medical Home Bill are badly needed, said Bill Keeton, of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.
“We were getting to a point where we were trying to figure out how we were going to continue to provide services,” Keeton said. “This is a new way for us to get new federal dollars for HIV-positive Medicaid patients.”
Among the strategies under consideration by ARCW was putting new patients on a waiting list.
Only ARCW and AIDS Network are eligible for the funding. Those agencies provide a fully integrated care model that includes core medical treatment as well as such “wrap-around” services as prevention, mental health care and case management. This “one stop” approach allows for better coordination of services and results in better outcomes for patients, Keeton said.
Money resulting from the HIV Medical Home Bill will be allocated by the Department of Health Services through Mike Johnson life care and early intervention service grants beginning as early as January 2011.
Current state law limits funding to under than $3.6 million.
The bill was unanimously recommended by Senate and Assembly committees and passed both houses on a voice vote April 22. Rep. John Richards, D-Milwaukee, was the Assembly sponsor and openly gay Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, sponsored in the Senate.
More than 7,000 Wisconsinites are living with HIV/AIDS, with 443 new cases reported in 2009.
