Client warns committee Department of Health changes to AIDS Drug Assistance Program threaten thousands' access to medication

Michael Rayner, identifying himself as a client of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services that roughly 32,000 people rely on the program and that announced Department of Health changes would "throw about 16,000 people out of medical care," leaving many without access to life-saving HIV medications.

Rayner said the department only recently initiated rulemaking about changes announced a month earlier, and he described "mass confusion" among clients and case managers due to incomplete communication. He also alleged that the Department of Health is refusing to have the HIV treatment Biktarvy dispensed to clients under the new guidance.

Senator Harrell asked whether affected clients had been advised to apply to the Medically Needy program or to access medicines through 340B-covered federally qualified health centers; Rayner replied many clients are ineligible for Medicaid or Medicare, and that moving to a 340B site would break established patient–provider relationships and create barriers to care. He urged the legislature to hold the Department of Health accountable and to act to protect access.

No agency representative responded to these public comments during the committee meeting; the claims and program counts in testimony are speaker-reported and will require verification from agency records.