Department Of Health To Drop Coverage Of Two AIDS Medications
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
The Arkansas Department of Health says it
will drop coverage for two medications under the Arkansas AIDS Drug
Assistance Program.
Without the cuts, the program risks running out of money before
the end of the funding period March 31st.
The federal AIDS drug program helps lower-income Arkansans. The
program receives about three-point-two (m) million dollars in
federal funds annually. With more than six months left in the
fiscal year, the department says the drug-assistance program has
about one-point-five (m) million dollars remaining.
The committee hopes that eliminating the two medications --
Valcyte and Sporanox -- it will save about ten-thousand dollars per
month.
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In April, the Health Department announced that the program could
only support 460 clients and it would start a waiting list. The
program is trying to further reduce the number of clients to 425.
Eleven patients are on the waiting list.
