Nebraska officials asks for more ADAP funding

Susan Swindells, director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center's HIV Clinic, is requesting additional funding from state and federal sources for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which is currently operating at a deficit of about $17,000 per month. Nebraska's ADAP, which provides free or low-cost anti-HIV drugs to low-income state residents with HIV/AIDS, currently receives $1.1 million annually, 90% of which comes from the federal government. Rising drug costs, increased life expectancy for HIV-positive people who receive treatment through the program, and increasing numbers of new enrollees in the program has created the shortfall, Swindells said. The program currently has a waiting list of 15 low-income people, many of whom were recently diagnosed with HIV and are not receiving medication.