KOOP CALLS U. S. AIDS POLICY "ALMOST TEN YEARS OVERDUE"

On February 27 C. Everett Koop, former U. S. Surgeon General, told Congress that "We don't have a Federal policy on AIDS, period," and that unless Congress intervenes, the situation will only get worse. Dr. Koop was speaking to the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, in support of a bill to expand Medicaid coverage for persons with AIDS or HIV.

Dr. Koop called it "incredible that the Federal government has not had a dialog with the states, and with certain municipalities," about how the costs of the epidemic will be paid.

Representative Waxman (D-California) commented that "Having missed the opportunity to get the ounce of prevention, we now have to pay for pounds and pounds of cure."