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Florida makes cuts to HIV/AIDS program
Thousands of Floridians with HIV and AIDS are at risk of losing access to necessary medication after the state's health department recently cut funding. FOX 13's Heather Healy reports.
TALLAHASSEE - Florida has issued cuts to the Aids Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a federal-state partnership that provides free FDA-approved HIV medication for low-income, uninsured or under-insured people.
By the numbers:
On Sunday, state officials slashed the program's income eligibility from 400% of the federal poverty level (about $62,000 for an individual) to just 130% (roughly $21,000).
The Florida Department of Health said that budget shortfalls forced the emergency ruling and that the cuts are to prevent a shortfall of $120 million.
The cuts would mean the program wouldn’t help with health care premiums anymore and would stop offering one of the most popular HIV medications.
What they're saying:
Back in January, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo spoke about how serious this is for the state and Floridians.
"It's a very real and consequential issue that we're dealing with," Dr. Ladapo said. "Exponentially increasing in cost due to changes at the federal level, specifically related to the federal tax credits for Affordable Care Act ACA health plans," he added.
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"With additional resources, it would be possible to fill that gap. But with the resources that we currently have, we're unable to fill that gap," he said.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sued the Florida Department of Health over these proposed cuts saying: "We are talking about real people's lives. This is not theoretical. This is not just a nice thing to do."
The Source: This article was written using previous FOX 13 reports and viewing information on WSVN’s website.