Florida lawmakers have reached a budget deal to fund the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, reversing the cuts made by the Florida Department of Health earlier this year.
The new deal, struck Monday, restores eligibility to 400% of the federal poverty level ($62,600 per year), reverses the drug restrictions and provides $75 million to run the program.
In January, the state first announced its changes to ADAP, including lowering the income threshold for the program to 130% of the federal poverty level ($20,345 per year). It also removed Biktarvy, the most popular HIV medication in the country, from coverage.
The state was promptly sued by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for not following its statutorily-mandated rule-making process. That includes community input and a 21-day waiting period. The state announced on Feb. 11 that it would go through its formal rule-making process, and so a stay was placed on AHF's legal challenge. Then, on the eve of a scheduled emergency hearing to lift that stay, the state filed an emergency rule formalizing the cuts — essentially ending AHF's legal challenge and instituting the cuts on March 1.
But lawmakers responded by passing a $30.9 million stopgap funding bill that was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 24, which restored the program until the end of the current fiscal year.
Now the new deal ensures the program remains afloat through next year.
"Florida's health department walked away from people living with HIV. Lawmakers brought them back," said Esteban Wood, AHF director of advocacy and legislative affairs
ADAP either directly paid for drugs or assisted on payments for healthcare plan premiums, copays and deductibles that covered the drugs for their clients. Premium payment assistance was removed from ADAP in the state's cuts. The new deal does not restore that assistance, but does require an independent analysis to weigh resulting premium payment assistance. The analysis is expected to be completed in January of next year.
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