Nearly 600 people on ADAP waiting lists nationwide

Nearly 600 people nationwide were on waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs as of January 24, according to new figures from the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. ADAPs are federally funded programs that provide lifesaving HIV medications to low-income HIV-positive people. There were 592 people on waiting lists in nine states: Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wyoming. A total of 12 states--Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington--have implemented various other ADAP cost-saving strategies since April 2003, including tightening financial eligibility requirements and curtailing the number of drugs offered. Additional program restrictions are expected to be enacted before the end of March in eight states to help offset ADAP budget deficits. President Bush has proposed a $10 million increase in ADAP funding for fiscal 2006, only a fraction of the more than $217 million AIDS activists say ADAPs need to serve all HIV-positive people who need them.