Florida suddenly cuts off 12,000 people from receiving their HIV meds

"The Department utilized an "11th hour" legal loophole on Tuesday, just one day before a hearing in a lawsuit filed against the state by AIDS Healthcare Foundation over changes to its AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Louise Wilhite-St. Laurent, an attorney representing AHF, was one of many outraged citizens, and called the move "legal subterfuge" at a press conference on Wednesday."

"Previously, people earning 400 percent of the federal poverty level (about $60,000 a year) were eligible for the program, but now the eligibility limit has been reduced to 130 percent of the poverty level. This means only individuals with an annual income of about $21,000 or less will continue to receive assistance."

""The stress this is causing for many of us living with HIV right now is indescribable," Michael Rajner, an HIV advocate and longtime ADAP client, told the press. "The fear, the panic of not knowing where to turn to [within] a health care system in this state that's falling apart.""

Florida's Department of Health abruptly eliminated medication assistance for approximately 12,000 HIV patients by invoking an emergency legal rule the day before a scheduled lawsuit hearing. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility threshold was drastically reduced from 400% of the federal poverty level (approximately $60,000 annually) to 130% (approximately $21,000 annually). This change takes effect March 1, leaving affected patients without access to affordable, lifesaving HIV medications. The state cited funding constraints as justification, while the AIDS Healthcare Foundation characterized the move as legal manipulation and filed a complaint challenging the emergency rule's validity. HIV advocates and patients expressed severe distress over the sudden policy shift and uncertainty about accessing healthcare.

Read at Advocate.com