Kendra S. Horn: “this amendment is tremendously important for thousands of people. It funds the Housing Opportunities for People with…”

“this amendment is tremendously important for thousands of people. It funds the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS. We are requesting an increase. Consider these facts: HIV prevalence within the homeless population alone is estimated to be 10 times higher than the infection rates in the general population. Primary care providers and people living with HIV/AIDS repeatedly cite the lack of affordable housing as the single most detrimental barrier to accessing real health care. When the number of individuals living with AIDS increases, the number of eligible housing sites also needs to increase. HOPWA-funded beds in residential facilities are 80 to 90 percent less expensive than an acute-care hospital bed. The HOPWA program reduces the use of emergency care services by $47,000 per person per year. Last year, this vital Federal program provided over $27 million for California alone. Across our Nation this year, there are four new eligible metropolitan statistical areas that will be added to the program. Those are the new areas, Albany, New York; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Columbia, South Carolina; and Oklahoma City. Other States will also qualify for HOPWA funds. In this appropriation bill, the HOPWA level is level funded at last year's level. Without the adoption of our amendment, every HOPWA recipient will experience a funding cut. That is why this modest increase of $18 million dollars is so desperately needed.”