Thousands Of Texans Living With HIV Could Lose Medication Access Due To Budget Crunch
Thousands of low-income Texans living with HIV are in danger of losing access to medication, as state administrators try to solve a budget deficit crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state-run Texas HIV Medication Program has asked the legislature for more than $100 million over the next two fiscal years, without which administrators say they'll be forced to limit eligibility in Texas and reduce HIV prevention efforts. The state already has some of the strictest requirements in the country.
Demand for the program skyrocketed during the pandemic because of job losses in the HIV community. Enrollment has increased by about 30%, now covering more than 21,000 people statewide. The most recent data, from 2018, showed around 94,000 Texans diagnosed with HIV.
"People who are losing their jobs, they may have gone to a private doctor or had insurance," said Januari Fox, policy director at PRISM Health of North Texas. "They no longer have that and they're looking for alternatives."
Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/health-science/2021/03/22/394077/thousands-of-texans-living-with-hiv-could-lose-medication-access-due-to-budget-crunch/
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