Released by the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), The National ADAP Monitoring Project 2017 Annual Report offers a comprehensive look at the nation’s AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) at a time when the health care safety net is facing drastic cuts.

ADAPs are part of the Ryan White HIV Program, which according to the report, are the nation’s third largest provider of federal funds for HIV care, after Medicaid and Medicare. As such, ADAPs help provide medication and medical care and to pay for health insurance for low-income people living with HIV.

This year, the report also looks at Ryan White Part B and includes infographics like those below that look at the key characteristics of 10 ADAPs with the highest rate of viral suppression (those include ADAPs in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and West Virginia).

ADAPs were able to expand services because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) and its expansion of Medicaid. For example, ADAPs helped clients enroll in ACA health plans. But the health care landscape for people with HIV could change drastically if the Republicans in Congress repeal the ACA and cut Medicaid.

“Cutting Medicaid will put far more pressure on safety net systems like ADAP and the Ryan White Program,” said Murray Penner, NASTAD executive director, in a press release for the ADAP report. “As the Senate takes up its own version of the [ACA replacement], it is imperative that lawmakers understand the devastating impact that undercutting Medicaid and private insurance for people living with HIV and hepatitis will have on public health programs and efforts to fight and end the epidemics.”

For related POZ articles, click #AIDS Drug Assistance Program and #National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.

Infographics from the NASTAD 2017 report Courtesy of NASTAD

Infographics from the NASTAD 2017 report Courtesy of NASTAD