Tag Archives: ADAP Waiting list

ADAP Watch 4/19/12

by D Gregory Smith

Last week (while I was on vacation)- NASTAD released the ADAP waiting list. From NAPWA (emphasis mine):

There’s some good news on the ADAP front: the FY 2011 emergency federal ADAP funding has brought waiting list numbers down in a number of states. South Carolina has eliminated its waiting list altogether, for the time being.

The bad news is that the numbers aren’t coming down very much. Georgia and Virginia – big states with big budgets – account for almost two-thirds of the nation’s total waiting list, and it looks like they are accepting their waiting lists as the “new normal.” Other states have disguised their real unmet need by setting income eligibility ceilings artificially low, and that looks set to become the “new normal,” too.

It’s hard to understand and hard to forgive. Over five years, it will cost the states with visible waiting lists or waiting lists whisked away by lowering income ceilings more to care for PLWHA who become sick enough for Medicaid than it would have cost to give them drugs to keep them healthy. It’s already a dollars-and-cents blunder before we even think about the human cost.

Here are the latest numbers from our friends at NASTAD:

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ADAP Waiting List for 12/15/11

by D Gregory Smith

The waiting list continues- up 59 persons in 2 weeks:

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Montana Petition To End ADAP Waiting Lists.

by D Gregory Smith

 

Hey friends,

I’m working with Project Inform to help with HIV Advocacy in the State of Montana. One of our projects is to work with Congress to increase ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) funding. Currently, there are over 9,200  people waiting for permanent funding to access these life-saving medications. 

We can do better. And your signatures can help make a difference.

Won’t you take a minute and sign the petition here? The letter to accompany the signatures is below.

Thank you- ten seconds can make a real difference.

 

 

Dear Chairman Rehberg:

The undersigned individuals and organizations in Montana are writing to urge your support for increased funding for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) in the Fiscal Year 2012 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill.   ADAPs need at least a $106 million increase to continue to serve the thousands of new clients entering the programs every year.  As you are aware, ADAPs provide HIV-related medications to under insured and uninsured individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. They are a lifeline for people who would otherwise be unable to get treatment they need to stay healthy and productive. We thank you for your past support for ADAP and are especially appreciative of the $50 million increase to ADAPs in Fiscal Year 2011. However, ADAP waiting lists continue to grow at an astronomical rate.

In January of this year, there were 4,200 people on waiting lists. As of August 26, 2011 the number more than doubled to 9,141people in 12 states – including 28 people in Montana – waiting for lifesaving medication. Nineteen ADAPs, including 11 with current waiting lists, have instituted additional cost containment measures since April 1, 2011 such as reduced formularies and enrollment caps. Additionally, ten ADAPs are considering implementing new or additional cost-containment measures by the end of ADAPs current fiscal year (March 31, 2012).

Because of your leadership role on the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcomittee, you are in a unique position to help secure this badly needed increase in ADAP funding to help people with HIV in Montana and around the country. While we understand the gravity of the U.S. fiscal situation, we need to ensure that people with HIV and AIDS receive the vital medications that keep them alive. Again we ask that you do everything possible to ensure an increase of at least $106 million to help solve this ADAP crisis.

 

Sincerely,