Nine State ADAPs Have Waiting Lists; Six States Anticipate New, Additional Access Restrictions, NASTAD says

Twenty-two state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs either have implemented waiting lists or other cost-containment measures or are considering such measures, according to the latest ADAP Watch released on Wednesday by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (ADAP Watch, 10/12). ADAPs are federal- and state-funded programs that provide HIV/AIDS-related medications to low-income, uninsured and underinsured HIV-positive individuals. In June 2004, President Bush announced $20 million in one-time funding outside of ADAP. The funding helped provide medications directly to HIV-positive people living in the 10 states that had waiting lists at that time (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/10). As of Sept. 19, 2,187 HIV-positive individuals were on ADAP waiting lists in nine states, with 1,321 of those patients enrolled in the President's ADAP Initiaive. Funding for PAI technically expired on Sept. 30, but BioScrip, which administers the program, was issued a no-cost extension that allows the company to provide medications to PAI clients as long as funding is available. The remaining 866 individuals on ADAP waiting lists are not covered under PAI (NASTAD release, 10/12). The nine states that currently have waiting lists include: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina and West Virginia. Twelve states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah -- have implemented other cost-containment strategies. In addition, six states -- Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee -- anticipate the need to implement new or additional cost-containment measures during the 2005 ADAP fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2006 (ADAP Watch, 10/12). In addition, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have put state ADAPs under new stress, and according to NASTAD estimates, nearly 300 evacuees are being served by ADAPs nationwide as Louisiana and Mississippi attempt to rebuild their programs (NASTAD release, 10/12).