Puerto Rican AIDS Grants Scrutinized by Officials

Hundreds of HIV and AIDS patients in Puerto Rico are not receiving vital medical care, say many doctors, community groups, and patients, The New York Times reports.

Federal officials and local doctors say the main problem is mismanagement by island officials of the money provided for AIDS care under the Ryan White Act, which last year amounted to $53-million.

Local-government officials, however, say the problem is that Puerto Rico’s health-care budget is too small to cover all the needs of the island’s residents.

Puerto Rican clinics have not received drugs on time, and private groups that help AIDS patients are often reimbursed six months late or more, causing some to cut services or shut down in some cases, the newspaper said.

Because of disorganization, say federal officials, the island has failed to spend all of its Ryan White aid, losing access to $6.5-million over the past five years.

As a result, federal officials have now put the AIDS grants under tight review and have threatened to stop the flow of federal funds unless the Puerto Rico Health Department and the City of San Juan make changes.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)