Florida: AIDS, HIV Patients Getting Help From Pharmaceutical Companies

Drug companies have stepped in to assist low-income Floridians needing HIV/AIDS medicines following reductions in the state-sponsored AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Florida's ADAP provides free treatment to more than 11,000 HIV/AIDS patients.

Millions of Floridians have lost their jobs and health insurance, and unemployment there now stands at 12.3 percent. Requests for ADAP's assistance have grown concurrently with the economy's decline. Exacerbating the problem: State officials halted ADAP enrollment in May following a $1 million cut to the program's budget. Now almost 1,800 HIV/AIDS patients are in line for help, the longest ADAP waiting list in the nation.

"I'm not shy about criticizing pharmaceutical companies. But I have to say they have helped us respond to this crisis so we don't have lapses in drug treatment," said Thomas Liberti, chief of the state department of health's Bureau of HIV/AIDS.

In an April open letter, the Fair Pricing Coalition, whose members range from the Miami-Dade Health Department to the Metropolitan Church in Topeka, Kansas, asked major US pharmaceutical firms for free drugs and easier application procedures for their existing Patient Assistance Programs. More than a half-dozen companies responded, said Liberti. "They have been very flexible and cooperative," he said, adding that the companies' assistance to date has amounted to nearly $15 million.

This summer, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a $25 million appropriation to help states like Florida deal with ADAP shortages. Florida will receive $6.9 million. "That's great," said Liberti, "But [the $6.9 million) amounts to three weeks worth of medications" for wait-listed patients.

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