In late March, it was revealed that officials in Florida had, um, modified its number of new HIV diagnoses that occurred in 2014 to reflect about 1,500 fewer new cases that year (4,613 instead of 6,147).
Though Florida's Department of Health played down the change as accounting for duplicitous names on the list, that revelation appalled health advocates and those critical of Governor Rick Scott's administration. (Not that it was shocking, though, given the administration's tendency to deny hard facts and use its power for baseless political attacks.)
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor penned a letter to U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell asking that federal officials to look into the matter.
The letter asked that HHS conduct a review to determine what the real number of new cases actually was in 2014 as well as whether DOH purposefully reduced the number in order to avoid scrutiny over a spike in new diagnoses in Florida at a time when HIV infections are declining in other states.
“Florida may have the largest increase in the rate of new HIV cases. Floridians deserve to know the public health facts," Castor writes. "As you are aware, statistical integrity has vital ramifications for resources and actions. The CDC uses the data collected by each state to compile national statistics, important for Florida and for our nation, not to mention grant funding.”
She said having a good gauge of what the real numbers are is crucial in determining what resources are needed to combat these numbers, especially after years of Scott's administration, which oversaw major cuts to public health services, namely by way of staffing, since he took office (granted, that happened during the economic slump).
"A review is particularly important in Florida where the number of public health professionals and county health departments have suffered substantial cuts over the past four years," Castor's letter continues. "Florida is in a weaker position to address the threat of the Zika virus or other public health emergencies based upon such cuts, so the HIV/AIDS situation may prove to be a cautionary tale. …Gov. Scott and his relevant agencies often need encouragement to provide adequate and necessary care for its most vulnerable citizens.”
She noted how this wouldn't be the first time the Scott administration absolved itself of responsibility to help sick people.
Last year, Castor writes, she called on federal officials to look into the reason why 13,000 sick kids were "screened out" of Florida Children's Medical Services.
This year, she continued, Scott signed bills further restricting access to safe abortion and defunding preventative care at clinics that provide abortions, clinics that do things such as offer free HIV testing to people who might not otherwise get tested. Then there was the state's withdrawal of its application for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant that would have helped the state fight HIV/AIDS.
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2016.