Nineteen states now have ADAP restrictions

A total of 19 states have implemented some sort of restrictions on their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs due to budgetary shortfalls, according to a report released this week by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. As of May 12, waiting lists for access to the programs existed in 10 states, with 453 people on the waiting lists. But a special one-time ADAP allotment of $20 million by President Bush last year will expire in September, pushing another 1,438 people from the programs onto waiting lists. The 10 states with current waiting lists include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Alabama and Arkansas also have instituted other cost-saving measures, such as reducing the number of drugs provided through ADAP or tightening financial eligibility requirements, as have nine other states: Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah, according to the report.