http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/04/042805hivMoney.htmDespite an increase in national funding, 11 states continue to have waiting lists for low-income HIV and AIDS patients who need help paying for prescription drugs, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Alliance of State AIDS Directors.
"These are lifesaving medications," said Lisejean Freed with the North Idaho AIDS Coalition in Coeur d'Alene. "On my caseload, I have 37 clients in the five northern counties, and probably eight of those people are on a waiting list."
The drugs that slow the advance of HIV and AIDS can cost patients thousands of dollars a month, Freed said. AIDS Drug Assistance Programs nationwide help low-income patients afford the medications, but federal funding is slim. Some states, including Idaho, have been forced to leave patients on a waiting list as health care costs rise.