Suozzi and Israel Declare Victory in Nassau-Suffolk Lawsuit to

Save HIV/AIDS Funding

 

Mineola, N.Y. – Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi was joined by Congressman Steve Israel, Nassau and Suffolk Health Departments, County Attorney offices and the United Way of Long Island today to announce that Nassau and Suffolk Counties won a lawsuit against the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for “drastic and unauthorized” cuts to vital services for Long Islanders living with HIV/AIDS. The cuts began March 1, 2007.

Suozzi and Israel were joined by Greg Noone, a litigant in the suit and program director of the AIDS advocacy organization Thursday’s Child; Teri Banks, executive director of the Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition; Gail Barouh, president and ceo of the Long Island Association for AIDS Care; Christopher Hahn, president and ceo of United Way of Long Island; Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Dr. Hank Chaudhry; Mary Curtis, Nassau Deputy County Executive for Health and Human Services and Nassau County Deputy Attorney Peter Clines.

"This is critical funding thousands of Long Islanders with AIDS and HIV have not had access to for the past year because of a misinterpretation of law,” said Suozzi. “I am pleased with the outcome of the litigation and will ensure that we secure the necessary funding to continue valuable programs and treatment for Nassau and Suffolk residents with AIDS.”

"The original decision by the federal government treated Long Island as a mere appendage to New York City, when in fact we are bigger than 18 states," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. "This decision will help ensure that services are provided for both day-to-day needs and emergency situations to those who are living with AIDS/HIV."

Under the Ryan White Care Act, Nassau and Suffolk counties received a total of more than $6 million in federal funding to provide services to people living with HIV/AIDS, including transportation, housing and emergency food assistance, health education and child care. The act was replaced with the Treatment Modernization Act of 2006.

According to the new legislation, a region is a designated Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA) when it meets one of two criteria. The two criteria are: a region must have 3,000 people living with AIDS and it must have 2,000 new AIDS cases reported during the past five years. Long Island meets the requirement for people living with AIDS as it had 3,428 people living with AIDS as of Dec. 31, 2005. There were 1,505 newly diagnosed cases between 2001-2005. In 2007, HHS concluded that the Modernization Act of 2006 excluded Long Island because it argued EMA’s should meet both criteria. Last week, the Court of Appeals agreed with the Counties that Long Island was indeed an EMA as long as it met one of the two criteria.

Peter Clines, Deputy County Attorney for Nassau argued the case before the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. The legal team included Dennis Saffran and Max Gershenoff for Nassau County, Arlene Squilling for Suffolk County, Barry Warner from Proskauer Rose for Federation Employment Guidance Services, and Victoria Osk for Nassau and Suffolk Law Services who were the attorneys for Thursday’s Child, Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition, Miriam Spaier, Jerome Knight, Traci Bowman and Donna Uysal.

"We are pleased that the Court realized the illegality of the Bush administration's mean-spirited interpretation of the statute at issue," said Nassau County Attorney Lorna Goodman.

In response to HHS’ interpretation last year, Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer and Congressmen Steve Israel and Peter King wrote a letter to HHS pointing out that according to the EMA eligibility language, the Nassau-Suffolk region only has to meet one of the two requirements to qualify as an EMA.

"The Department of Health and Human Services was putting bureaucratic technicalities ahead of common sense and compassion in helping Long Islanders with AIDS,” stated Representative Israel. I'm glad we prevailed, but it really is unfortunate that it took a court decision to prevent the Department of Health of Human Services from slashing AIDS funding on Long Island."

"As increasing numbers of people with HIV/AIDS live longer, the cost of care and treatment places greater demands on families and friends, as well as local governments and community-based organizations. This critical Ryan White CARE Act funding will ensure that Long Island has the necessary resources to care for those with HIV/AIDS”, stated Senator Schumer.

"When Congress reauthorized Ryan White in 2006, I worked with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that Long Island and other localities with a significant burden of the epidemic would receive the funding necessary to continue the fight against this disease," said Senator Clinton. "We developed formulas that accounted for efforts to help people with HIV and AIDS live longer, healthier lives, yet the Administration failed to implement these provisions. I am pleased to see the court has upheld the intent of the legislation, and has recognized the true need that exists on Long Island,” Stated Senator Clinton.

The legal battle lasted just over a year, during which Nassau and Suffolk’s claim stated that HHS’ interpretation of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 put Long Island’s HIV and AIDS patients in grave danger of losing essential care and services. The lawsuit requested that HHS “correctly apply the congressionally-mandated grantee eligibility criteria, and place the Nassau-Suffolk area into the grantee category it previously occupied …. with the ability to share in a nationwide $458 million fund…” Funding for the program has remained essentially unchanged, but the federal government wanted to reallocate those funds.

United Way of Long Island is responsible for administering Ryan White CARE Act funds. A half dozen non profit agencies and Long Islanders who have benefited from Ryan White CARE Act funding joined the lawsuit, including Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition; Federation Employment and Guidance Service, a nonprofit organization focused on health and human services; and Thursday's Child, an HIV/AIDS support and advocacy group.

“We applaud the court's ruling and thediligent work of the Nassau County Attorney’s office,” said Christopher Hahn, President and CEO of United Way of Long Island. “With a population larger than all but two cities in the nation and more cases of HIV and AIDS than any other suburban community nationwide, the denial of Long Island’s Eligible Metropolitan Area status was unjustified.We are thrilled that the Circuit Court came to the correct conclusion that this was not the intent of Congress and reinstatedEMA status for Long Island.”

"I would like to thank our County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, Nassau County Attorney, Lorna Goodman, and her diligent staff for pursuing this case on behalf of those thousands of individuals with HIV/AIDS in Long Island,” said Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, Nassau County’s Health Commissioner. “This sets a precedent in restoring vital care to those in need."

"Federal money already allocated to take care of those residents of Long Island who have been trying their best to cope with HIV and AIDS should never have been taken away," said Dr. Humayun Chaudhry, Suffolk County's Commissioner of Health Services. "This decision by the Court of Appeals is a very important step in correcting a wrong that should never have happened in the first place."