AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today criticized an announcement by Health and Human services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday regarding so-called "expanded" funding for cash-strapped state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs). During a press briefing about AIDS funding—designed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the disease—Secretary Sebelius announced that $50 million will be made available to assist states that currently have patients on waiting lists. However, these are monies already appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. It is in fact not new HHS monies. In addition, by simply giving funds to states that already have waiting lists, new waiting list states are being created.
As of June 2nd, there are 8,111 individuals on waiting lists to receive lifesaving AIDS medications in thirteen states. Hundreds of patients in need are being added to the waiting list each week. In addition, thousands more Americans living with HIV/AIDS have been dropped from the program or made ineligible to receive medications through ADAP due to stricter eligibility requirements.
"It is crucial that the Obama administration address rapidly escalating waiting lists for the nation's network of hard-hit AIDS Drug Assistance Programs; however, by using all the new money for waiting list states, the Obama administration and HHS are simply creating new waiting list states and penalizing those states that have increased their own share of the funding," said Michael Weinstein, President of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Foundation in a statement from Florida, the state with the largest ADAP waiting list. "It's called a shell game, or three card Monty, and states that have already stepped up to the plate on their own to assist some of their most vulnerable citizens should not be punished by the Feds for having done the right thing."
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