03/05/2026
“Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Department of Health is severely restricting access to medications for thousands of people with HIV or AIDS who are uninsured or underinsured and receive coverage through ADAP, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.”
“The Florida Department of Health has blamed rising insurance premiums as the cause of a $120 million shortfall in the federally funded program — a claim disputed by AIDS advocates — the state will limit eligibility to 130% of the federal poverty level as of Monday 1, a steep reduction from the previous level of 400%.”
“In real-life terms, eligibility would fall from a patient’s annual income of $63,840 to a drastically lower $20,748, hurting an estimated 16,000 Floridians. Without insurance, medications can cost more than $4,000 a month. Experts warn that new restrictions will increase homelessness and hospital costs and increase the spread of HIV in Florida.”
“There is panic. There is fear. People are crying,” Michael Rajner of Fort Lauderdale, who has lived with HIV since 1995 and who relies on ADAP, told the Senate Appropriations Committee at a Jan. 14 hearing.
“For weeks, Rajner has been a persistent presence at the Capitol in Tallahassee. Until he showed up and began testifying, some senators said they were not aware of the ADAP crisis.”
“One senator is definitely aware, however. At that meeting, Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, questioned DeSantis administration officials about how the state justified taking money away from the program. His concerns were echoed by David Poole, who ran the ADAP program from 1993 through 2005. ‘Pushing tens of thousands of people off potentially lifesaving medications … these are life or death consequences for many Floridians,’ he said.”
“In a state holding an enormous budget reserve of nearly $17 billion, legislators must resolve this manufactured health care crisis. No other state has imposed such severe income restrictions on the ADAP program.”
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/03/03/a-race-against-time-on-aids-medications-editorial-2/
