New York Lawmakers Should Pass Bill Capping Amount Low-Income Residents With HIV Pay for Housing, Columnist Says

Some New York City residents with HIV pay as much as 70% of their income on housing because of the financial assistance they receive through the New York City HIV/AIDS Services Administration, New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis writes. According to Louis, lawmakers should pass a bill that would cap the rent contribution of low-income people with HIV/AIDS at 30% of their income, "the standard used for most rent-subsidy programs." The bill is currently before the state's Assembly Ways and Means Committee. Louis adds that ensuring that people living with HIV are in "stable housing ... makes them less likely to run up big taxpayer bills by using public hospital emergency rooms for basic health care." He concludes, "Albany has a choice: do what's cheap and quick in the short run, or do what makes long-term sense and saves lives" (Louis, New York Daily News, 5/31).

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