Alaska Continues No-Cost Disease Testing; N.J. Lawmaker Presses For Clinic Funding

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 22 Jul 2010 - 3:00 PDT

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Alaska officials said the state will continue to pay for HIV and other screenings despite budget concerns, while a state senator is urging New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) to restore funding for the state's women's health clinics. Summaries appear below.

~ Alaska: No-cost screenings for HIV, herpes, hepatitis and other illnesses will continue as the state Division of Public Health considers how to impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending cuts, Deputy Division Director Kerre Fisher said this week, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Last Friday, state public health labs -- which fall under the jurisdiction of the Division of Public Health -- sent notices to clients stating that the no-cost testing would stop due to budget constraints. Fisher said the notifications were sent prematurely as the division considers potential budget cuts. Joan Fisher, director of the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center, said low-income, uninsured residents are most likely to be affected if the cuts are imposed because their testing is handled by state labs. Private testing facilities generally handle results for the state's Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and residents with private insurance (Shinohara, Anchorage Daily News, 7/20).

~ New Jersey: On Monday, New Jersey state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) urged Gov. Chris Christie (R) to approve a bill (S 2139) that would restore $7.5 million in funding for women's health clinics, the AP/Asbury Park Press reports. In June, Christie eliminated state funding for the clinics from his $29.4 billion budget. Weinberg said she has found unused money in the budget to cover the cost of restoring the appropriations for the state's 58 family planning centers, adding that New Jersey would miss a nine-to-one federal match for some patients if the funding is not restored. Christie has questioned the funding source identified by Weinberg and said he has not yet decided whether to approve the bill (AP/Asbury Park Press, 7/19).

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