Proposal To Increase Funding to Nebraska ADAP Introduced in State Appropriations Committee

A bill (LB 1028) introduced in the Nebraska Legislature's Appropriations Committee on Monday would increase by $700,000 annually funding to the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports (Bauer, AP/Sioux City Journal, 2/14). ADAPs are federal- and state-funded programs that provide HIV/AIDS-related medications to low-income, uninsured and underinsured HIV-positive individuals (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/7). According to the AP/Journal, the state currently provides $150,000 in funding annually to the program and the federal government provides $1.7 million annually. Bill sponsor Sen. Jim Jensen said the current funding is not adequate to provide antiretrovirals to all HIV-positive people in the state. The program provides drugs to approximately 202 people each month, and there are 92 people on the program's waiting list, the AP/Journal reports (AP/Sioux City Journal, 2/14). The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors earlier this month released the latest ADAP Watch, which shows that 954 HIV-positive people were on waiting lists in 10 states as of Jan. 18 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/3). Jensen said that additional funding to the state's ADAP could eliminate the waiting list. According to the AP/Journal, the committee did not take any action on the proposal (AP/Sioux City Journal, 2/14).