健康英语新闻:Florida HIV/AIDS patients in dispute with health authorities over medication funding

TAMPA, the United States, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The HIV/AIDS patients in the U.S. state of Florida are in dispute with state authorities over a proposal to impose tighter restrictions on those who qualify for drugs provided by the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

According to the proposed restrictions, individuals would have to earn less than 21,000 U.S. dollars annually to qualify for ADAP drugs. If approved by the Florida Department of Health (FDH), this would affect approximately 1,150 HIV/AIDS patients.

"The FDH is currently looking at the number of cost containment activities, including altering the financial eligibility for ADAP services," said FDH's press secretary Jessica Hammonds. "After soliciting public input on this matter, the department is in the final stages of evaluating the matter."

The Florida ADAP program serves almost 9,500 clients, each of whom receiving 8,600 dollars in funding annually, Hammonds said. There are still another 3,482 on a waiting list.

Four FDH sponsored public hearings were held in April and May on the proposal to reduce HIV/AIDS funding. Two were held in Miami, one in Tampa, and the other one was held in the state capital city of Tallahassee. Over 1,000 people attended the hearings.

The issue has become so ubiquitous that it caught the attention of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), created by the popular entertainer of the same name.