It was in the 1980s and '90s, when the country first saw a rise in HIV diagnoses. Through statewide efforts, public policy and support networks, Wisconsin and other states made significant progress to control the HIV epidemic.
Bill Keeton has spent 20 years with Vivent Health in Milwaukee, providing HIV prevention and care to marginalized communities.
“We have about 8,000 people across the state living with HIV, and [I’m] happy to say that HIV morbidity and mortality, the number of new infections, the number of people who are getting sick from or passing away from HIV is amongst the lowest in the nation. We like to say that people with HIV live longer, healthier lives than just about any other state in the nation,” Keeton says.
In addition to treating patients, Vivent Health offers on-site access to resources such as dentists, food pantries, mental health services and housing support. The goal is to help patients with the barriers that might prevent them from seeking treatment.
“HIV is no different in that regard, it thrives in environments where there is racism, classism, homophobia, socio economic disadvantage and what we know unfortunately is that today in America, and throughout the state, those 'isms,' if you will, continue to perpetuate and continue to have an impact on especially young folks and folks of color,” Keeton explains.
Recently, the Trump administration proposed cuts to the Division of HIV prevention in the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Vivent Health, if approved, more than $1 billion in national funding for HIV testing, treatment, prevention and other resources could become unavailable.
Vivent Health receives roughly $1.9 million from the CDC through partnerships with the state to provide services to patients. Most of those funds go to services in the Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin area.
Keeton hopes the funding will be protected by legal contracts already in place. But the uncertainty is concerning.
“At the end of the day what it means is, if the $1.9 million dollars in CDC derived funding that Vivent Health receives goes away, we’re going to be unable to sustain the level of services and reach the number of people we need to reach to continue to successfully address the HIV epidemic in the state of Wisconsin. And that’s really unfortunate because we know that these programs are working,” Keeton says.
Keeton worries that funding cuts could hurt the progress made toward early detection of HIV and lowering the number of new infections.
“We can reasonably talk about ending HIV as an epidemic in this nation probably by 2030 or 2035 if we continue to invest in the programs that are currently working. Now is not the time to go backwards and set us back decades as we try to reach a goal that I think everyone, regardless of political affiliation, would agree is a noble goal,” Keeton says.
Vivent Health is also watching how other federal funding cuts could affect their patients' lives.
Most of their patients live at or below the federal poverty level. Government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare often provide access to medications that otherwise could cost thousands of dollars.
