What Tennessee's rejection of federal HIV testing, prevention funds mean for Nashville

In January the Tennessee Department of Health announced that the state will no longer accept funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for HIV prevention, testing and treatment. Around 20,000 Tennesseans are living with HIV, and the CDC estimates that 14% of Tennesseans with HIV are unaware of their status. The funding will run out at the end of May, and there is no set plan of how the state will compensate for this lack of federal money. So, how did we get here? In this episode, we look into the why the state made this decision and talk to physicians and health advocates about potential long-term consequences. Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. Ralph Alvarado was invited to join the panel, but declined. But first, we check in with WPLN’s criminal justice reporter Paige Pfleger on a bill designed to eliminate community oversight boards in Tennessee. Editor’s note: This episode inaccurately states that TN Health Commissioner Dr. Ralph Alvarado made the announcement that the state would reject federal CDC funds for HIV prevention. The TN Health Department made the announcement. Guests: Dr. Aima Ahonkhai, physician, researcher, clinician, and member of the HIV Medicine Association Shamar Gunn, prevention director and 3MV program coordinator with Street Works Phil Michal Thomas, human rights activist, mental health professional and author Dr. Peter Rebeiro, epidemiologist and biostatistician, and member of the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research executive committee Previous episodes and reading: This Is Nashville: Pandemic to pandemic: 41 years of AIDS WPLN: Basic HIV testing and treatment in Nashville is being threatened by an unexplained state funding cut WPLN: What we know a week after Tennessee rejected federal HIV funding WPLN: Tennessee’s new health chief dodges grilling over dropped HIV funding WPLN: How Nashville has backtracked on HIV despite effective prevention options