The Florida Department of Health has issued a staggering invoice for public records in response to a lawsuit related to the department's decision to alter the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
ADAP was previously open to those who make around $60,000 per year. But in January the state changed that requirement to people who make around $20,000 per year.
The changes would have gone into effect on March 1, but the state was sued by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for failing to adhere to a formal rulemaking process, which calls for a public comment period.
The state has since complied and announced formal changes.
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The foundation also sued the state for failing to comply with a public records request related to the health department's decision to alter ADAP.
In response to the public records suit, the state sent a $786,507.36 invoice to review and prepare nearly 2 million emails the state says are relevant to the records request.
The foundation calls the invoice a "ransom note."
"This is flat out extortion to cover the Department of Health's violation of Florida's legal rulemaking process," said foundation president Michael Weinstein.
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"This is a ransom note effectively crafted to prevent any information about the DOH's arbitrary, illegal and punitive move to rewrite ADAP eligibility, a very clear violation of Florida's Sunshine Law, and a move that threatens the lives of thousands of Floridians living with HIV."
The state has said cuts to ADAP are necessary to avoid a $120 million shortfall, but have yet to substantiate that claim.
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