HIV & AIDS Services at Risk in Florida

Florida is considering reducing the eligibility threshold for many of the state's AIDS programs from the current income eligibility requirement of 400 percent of Federal Poverty Level to 200 percent. The state hopes this will cut costs. However, the move would also cut Floridians off from lifesaving HIV/AIDS care and services. AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Broward House argue the move would increase medical costs to the state in the long run as AIDS patients would naturally end up seeking more expensive emergency care at hospitals around the state.

The next public hearing will be Monday, May 9 in Miami from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the History Miami, 101 West Flagler Street.

"On paper and given the financial crisis affecting Florida, an eligibility reduction...seems like it might not be that drastic at first blush; however, when you drill down, you find that a single Floridian living with AIDS earning anything more than $21,780 per year would no longer qualify for any assistance whatsoever," Michael Kahane, Southern Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement. "Hundreds of Florida AIDS patients could immediately be disenrolled from ADAP and other programs. These patients' drugs and drug regimens can cost $12,000 to $15,000 per year-so these newly ineligible patients might face drug costs that are easily more than half of their income. In light of this, AHF insists that Florida keeps its eligibility threshold at 400 percent."

The 2011 Federal Poverty Level income for a single individual living in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia is $10,890. So 200 percent of the 2011 FPL would be $21,780. While 400 percent of FPL, the current eligibility threshold in Florida, is $43,920.

Florida has the third largest HIV/AIDS caseload in the nation. There are nearly 3,762 HIV/AIDS patients on a waiting list to access Florida's AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a federal/state program that helps provide lifesaving AIDS drugs to low-income Americans. This accounts for more than half of the nationwide total of people on ADAP waiting lists. ADAP, along with the AIDS Insurance Continuation Program, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS are three programs at risk.

Visit AidsHealth.org or TheAidsInstitute.org for more information.