Massachusetts allocates $2.4 million for ADAP

Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday approved a spending bill that includes an additional $2.4 million in supplemental funds for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program. ADAP officials had lobbied for the additional money because they said funding shortfalls could have resulted in some HIV patients being placed on a waiting list for the program, which provides free antiretroviral medications to low-income HIV-positive people in the state. Enrollment in the state's ADAP has more than doubled during the past two years, from 1,538 patients in 2002 to 3,224 in 2004. The ADAP appropriation, part of a larger $400 million spending measure, now goes to Gov. Mitt Romney for his approval.