Chicago- It will soon be easier for 4,200 people in the state to get their HIV medications through the Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
Thanks to a series of rule changes advocated by AIDS Legal Council of Chicago and AIDS Foundation of Chicago (and approved last week by the Illinois Department of Public Health), fewer people with HIV will run the risk of losing their access to medicines because of cumbersome application and paperwork requirements. This comes as especially good news to the many who had reported difficulties navigating the on-line application process and having to repeatedly submit documentation to qualify for help.
Explains Ann Hilton Fisher, Executive Director of AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, "At ALCC, we kept hearing from ADAP clients who were trying to complete the reapplication process and were having problems, either because they didn't understand some of the questions, or because they couldn't get all the attachments in on time, or just because they were worried that they'd done something wrong and wouldn't be able to get their next month's medications. It was very inefficient, and it was jeopardizing people's access to medicines."
John Peller, Vice-President of Policy at AIDS Foundation of Chicago, agrees that the rules requiring a new application every six months were creating havoc with case managers and clients. "ADAP recipients were having to submit the same documents and information over and over again. While it's critical to ensure that only eligible individuals are getting on ADAP, it's possible to do this without drowning people in paperwork."
ADAP provides life-saving HIV medications to low-income people with HIV who are uninsured or underinsured. Although the program has been stressed in recent years due to falling state revenues and an influx of people turning to ADAP for help, preserving regular access to medications is considered key to suppressing the virus in people with HIV and reducing the likelihood of further transmission to uninfected partners. Sadly, the old program rules were creating challenges that were keeping people with HIV from the drugs they needed.
Among the new rules to be adopted, ADAP will no longer require existing recipients to fill out an entirely new application every six months, opting for a much less burdensome process of "recertification" instead. "The program will ask if you're currently receiving prescriptions through ADAP," explains Fisher, "and if the answer is yes, a lot of follow-up questions won't get asked. Furthermore, if ADAP already has the proof it needs in your file, you won't have to submit that again."
Another benefit is that ADAP staff will begin following up with individuals whose applications are incomplete and will ask them if they want to name someone else, like a case manager or family member, who can help them with their application. Third, the program will make accommodations to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to ADAP and other HIV programs. "We have clients," says Fisher, "who have serious mental health problems and would find it virtually impossible to navigate the process if ADAP didn't make any allowances for their special needs. These changes help to ensure that even the most vulnerable can get access to life-saving medications."
Peller cautions that it may take up to nine months for the changes to be fully implemented and reminds us that questions about ADAP's long-term fiscal health remain unanswered. Still, the rule changes are a definite bright spot that will bring relief and peace of mind to thousands of Illinois residents with HIV. "We are so grateful for the HIV program leadership at IDPH, especially Dr. Mildred Williamson and ADAP Director Dr. Jeff Maras, for listening to our concerns and the community's concerns about ADAP."
