Florida suddenly cuts off 12,000 people from receiving their HIV meds

HIV patients and advocates in Florida are reeling after the Department of Health’s sudden move to cut off about 12,000 people from receiving affordable HIV medication, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

The Department utilized an “11th hour” legal loophole on Tuesday, just one day before a hearing in a lawsuit filed against the state by AIDS Healthcare Foundation over changes to its AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

Louise Wilhite-St. Laurent, an attorney representing AHF, was one of many outraged citizens, and called the move “legal subterfuge” at a press conference on Wednesday.

AHF filed the suit in January after the state announced its plans to enforce new eligibility limitations for recipients of the program that helps low-income patients living with HIV obtain affordable, lifesaving medications. Previously, people earning 400 percent of the federal poverty level (about $60,000 a year) were eligible for the program, but now the eligibility limit has been reduced to 130 percent of the poverty level. This means only individuals with an annual income of about $21,000 or less will continue to receive assistance.

With the new limitations going into effect Sunday, March 1, those being cut from the program have been left in a state of shock and scrambling for solutions.

“The stress this is causing for many of us living with HIV right now is indescribable,” Michael Rajner, an HIV advocate and longtime ADAP client, told the press. “The fear, the panic of not knowing where to turn to [within] a health care system in this state that’s falling apart.”

However, Eduardo S. Lombard, an attorney representing the Department of Health, said the “suggestion of subterfuge is just theatrics,” and the state claims the cuts were necessary due to a lack of funding for the program.

But AHF is already fighting back. On Thursday, the foundation filed a complaint challenging the use of the emergency rule, stating there was no “immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare” in order to justify the sudden change in eligibility. Tom Meyers, general counsel for AHF, said the organization is planning on fighting the move with “all due speed.”

House and Senate Democrats also spoke out against the questionable utilization of the emergency rule. Sen. Shevrin Jones called the move “reckless" and added, "Florida should not be the state that turns a preventable budget issue into a preventable public health emergency.”