Medicaid Programs Failing to Provide Poor with AIDS Drugs
Medicaid programs in the four states with the largest AIDS
populations -- California, Florida, New York and Texas -- are
failing to provide access to treatment for many AIDS patients,
according to a government-funded study by the University of
California-San Francisco's AIDS Research Institute. Researchers
investigated programs in the four states to determine "how many
patients with HIV and AIDS had the proper prescriptions filled
based on federal treatment guidelines. "Preliminary findings
suggest that among the four states, Texas
has the worst record, with nearly two-thirds of its patients not
receiving necessary AIDS medication, the AP/Boston Globe
reports. Other findings include:
- Among state Medicaid programs, fewer than 40% of Texas
patients received "proper drugs." California exhibited a
"slightly higher" rate. In Florida, about 50% of Medicaid
patients received necessary drugs. In New York, "just over half"
of the patients were receiving necessary treatment.
- In the AIDS Drug
Assistance Program, designed to assist low-income, uninsured
HIV-positive individuals, "overall numbers were higher [compared
to Medicaid] in all states, partly because the program is
designed to pay for AIDS drugs, whereas Medicaid is a full health
insurance program." In Texas, "just over half" of patients in
ADAP received proper drugs, compared to about two-thirds of ADAP
patients in California and Florida. About 75% of New York ADAP
patients were receiving necessary treatment.
The discrepancy among state records suggests that "state
policies are at least partly to blame for the disturbing
results." For example, some states limited patients to only
three prescriptions per month, while most AIDS patients require
more than three. Also, lack of access to AIDS specialists
created an additional barrier for patients in rural areas of
Texas. The Texas ADAP also required many patients to pay a $5
co-pay per prescription and had a "limited number of pharmacies
willing to fill the prescriptions." Furthermore, the Texas
system required "central processing of prescriptions," leading to
"significant delays" for patients seeking drugs. Tom Flavin,
spokesperson for HHS' Health Resources and Services
Administration, said, "Those are decisions made at the state
level. That's how Congress established the program" (Meckler,
AP/Boston Globe, 11/4).
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