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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1999)
Bill offers chance for life LB644 funds medicine that battles HIV/AIDS By Jessica Fargen Senior staff writer Nov. 28, 1996, is a day Margie Dumas will never forget. That was the day she found out she was HIV-posi tive. She had to quit her job as the fatigue set in. And with two kids to support, money was tight. Federal money for AIDS/HIV patients was the only thing she had in the limbo time between quitting her job and qualifying for social security. In Nebraska, federal money for HIV/AIDS patients is not supple mented by any state dollars. LB644 would remedy that with $150,000 a year for the next two years for the AIDS Pharmaceutical Assistance Project. Under the bill, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Shelley Kiel, Nebraska would join the 28 other states that supplement federal money. The fed eral money comes from the Ryan White CARE Act. White contracted HIV as a young boy and died of com plications from the disease in 1990. Several HIV-positive Nebraskans, medical professionals and HIV/AIDS-awareness advocates tes tified in favor of the bill Thursday, in front of the Health and Human P1HT Services Committee. No one testified in opposition. Money from the fund would be used to pay for “drug cocktails.” The drug mixes have been credited with the decreasing number of AIDS deaths in the United States and can cost from $12,000 to $15,000 a year. Those who are working are not eligible for Medicaid and social secu rity, so they rely on Ryan White CARE Act money to pay for medica tion. , Darren McCarty, who has been HIV-positive for 14 years, said the “drug cocktails” are a miracle. “Without these medications, I would not be here today,” said McCarty, who was a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student when he was diagnosed. McCarty’s medication costs $33,000 a year, which is covered by Medicaid. He takes 48 pills a day. | McCarty is one of an estimated 2,500 HIV-positive people in Nebraska. Since 1983, Nebraska has had 936 reported AIDS cases; of those, 544 have died. To be eligible for the money, a Nebraskan who is HIV-positive would have to have an income 200 percent below the poverty level. Sue Crumpton, director of the Nebraska AIDS Project, said last year the $470,000 allocated to Nebraska from the White fund was not enough. Halfway through the year, people were told they may not receive the funds, she said. “The impact of LB644 on their lives and the ability to serve people will be very vital,” Crumpton said of people with HTV and AIDS. Susan Swindells, medical direc tor at the HTV Clinic at die University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, said LB644 is cost-effective. When HIV patients are properly mediated they have less emergency room visits and fewer of them are on Medicaid and disability, Crumpton said. ' Any time a bill asks for money, senators may be wary about passing it, Kiel said, and her bill is no excep tion. “Often times, in these days, our sense of what is the right thing to do collides directly with the bottom line,” she said. Dumas told senators the cost of the bill is only a small part of LB644. “If this money is allowed to occur, other families will be allowed to keep their mothers and fathers.” 728 4| ST HAY MARKET 475-8483 SPORTS BAR & GRILL F1B>AIPAC 6 FREE WINGS with drink purchase 5-7 p.m. 23 oz. domestics $2.00 32oz. domestic $3.00 foosball, pool, darts, NTN trivia n rq Lost & Found Come dance to ad vour favorites from tne '80's thru the ’90's - Get there early & beat the cover! $1.00 Well Drinks from 8 -9pm! $1.50 Well Drinks. $1.00 Cans, and .50 cent jello Shots all night long! W.C'i Downtown1228 "P* St477-4006 fRIDAY nightworshiP Join us for live music. Bible teaching and food!! Starts 8:00 PM Alpha Omega House 425 University Terrace (Behind Pound DormJ 436-7177 W' . ^ /\ > . I I 22st Annual Delta Sigma Pi Spina Bifida Volleyball/Basketball Tournament Friday February 26& Saturday February27 % the Campus Recreation Center All proceeds benefit the Spina Bifida Association of Star City. We would like to thank the following sponsors for their support' M|#k AuocMb(I m 5 ^ Nom and Throat ••:•' -•• * ^g^PhytklM* ' GALLUP ^ AmeritasW! LIFE INSURANCE CORP. ORTH0S0NTICSP.C. Harding Bate*A.SchoettpsDJD.S.,ILS. ' . Shultz & Downs wm&§! Quick, INC. - *--*-*' The Red Solution pO, Box 22640 * Lincoln, NE 68542-2640 L / by David Mamet Directed by Patrick Lambrecht "Oleanna," named one of 199?* 'ten best plays' by Time, is a searing exploration of sexual harassment in America. NOS: Before yon make plans to attend 'Oleanna.* ptoase understand that this play deals with seaul dMhes langnage in a very frank manner -■ •-« -■ — Nfc.l4^yf 7:30m*. 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