Ohio cuts funds from ADAP program

The Ohio Department of Health has cut nearly $1.4 million from the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program because of budgetary constraints, leaving some HIV-positive patients in the state at risk of losing access to HIV antiretroviral medications, The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer reports. Ohio's ADAP expenditures have more than doubled, from $6.5 million to $14.6 million, over the last five years. Although the bulk of funding for the program comes from federal grants, the state makes up the difference in helping low-income state residents gain access to anti-HIV medications. State officials are hoping to avoid curtailing access to drugs or implementing waiting lists for HIV-positive people wishing to join the program by obtaining discounted medications through a federal pool that negotiates drug rates with pharmaceutical companies. The health department is also trying to enroll any eligible ADAP participant into Medicaid to obtain the drugs.