Two hard-hit states maintain ADAP services
Two hard-hit states maintain ADAP services
Federal funding comes through for MI and PA
Not all states are facing a crisis with their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) this year, despite the widespread economic downturn.
For instance, the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania are doing well with ADAP, although they have the same state budgetary issues impacting other states.
Michigan's ADAP has never had a waiting list and doesn't anticipate any program cuts in the near future, even though there has been an increase in people needing the service, says Chris Hanson, ADAP coordinator for the state of Michigan in Lansing.
Michigan supplies no regular state funds to ADAP, but still is able to provide 300 drugs on its ADAP formulary, Hanson says.
"So far this year we've had a 16% increase in ADAP members," Hanson says. "And we've seen a 19% increase in utilization over the past year."
The increase in ADAP need appears to be related to the state's recession in which people who had been privately insured through their employers have lost their jobs and insurance, Hanson says.
This trend also has contributed to the ADAP's increase in utilization.
"More people who get on ADAP now are actually using it," Hanson says. "There's never 100% utilization with any of our programs, but now more people are using it, and our utilization has increased from just shy of 70% to more than 80%."
Pennsylvania also has stayed clear of ADAP waiting lists and does not anticipate any changes this year to its generous ADAP formulary, says Cheryl Henne, special pharmaceutical benefits program administrator for the state.
The state even recently expanded its Ryan White program to include coverage of lab services, Henne notes.
And the state returned $11 million in ADAP funding from the previous fiscal year's budget, a rare move these days, Arnold says.
"For Ryan White Fiscal Year 2007/2008, Pennsylvania attributes its unobligated balance to the successful collection of rebates combined with the requirement to use those rebates as program income," Henne explains. "Without using the rebates as the first source of payment, the federal grant and matching state fund would have been expended in full and any obligated balance would have been covered with rebate funds."
For FY 2008/2009, Pennsylvania spent its entire grant award, Henne adds.
Not all states are facing a crisis with their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) this year, despite the widespread economic downturn.Subscribe Now for Access
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