January 21, 2010

Illinois ADAP Faces Budget Cuts as Enrollment Predicted to Spike

Illinois’s $12 billion budget deficit might force the state to cut funding to its AIDS drug assistant program (ADAP), which helps low-income HIV-positive people pay for medications, the Windy City Times reports.

“Without additional state funding, hundreds of people with HIV will be cut from the program or put on a waiting list,” said John Peller, AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s (AFC) director of government relations.

ADAP’s funding crisis is compounded by a predicted 15 percent program enrollment increase in 2010. An AFC report concluded ADAP will need an additional $10 million in funding to meet the needs of new enrollees and existing clients.

The Illinois House Appropriation Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing January 22 about the state’s budget crisis and ADAP.

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