ADAP waiting lists drop to 1,500 people

The number of people nationwide on waiting lists for state-run AIDS Drug Assistance Programs dropped slightly from 1,629 in June to 1,518 in August, according to the latest report by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. Waiting lists are currently in place in nine states, according to the report: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Ten states have other cost-cutting measures in place, including tightening financial eligibility requirements and reduced drug formularies. Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Oregon are expected to implement new or additional restrictions before the current fiscal year ends on March 31, 2005. President Bush in June announced that he was making $20 million available to reduce the ADAP waiting lists, which helped to lower the number of people on the lists. But the new funding applies only to patients who were on the waiting lists as of June 21; since then 127 HIV-positive people across the country who attempted to enroll in the programs were added to the waiting lists.