The Florida Senate on March 10 advanced an amendment that would send $30.9 million in emergency funding to the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a major step toward restoring HIV medication access for thousands of Floridians affected by recent changes to the program.

ADAP, or the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, helps low-income people living with HIV access the medication they need to stay healthy.

The amendment to HB 697, filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur, would fund ADAP through June 30, 2026, restore direct-dispense eligibility to 400% of the federal poverty level, and take effect immediately upon becoming law. 

“This is the direct result of months of advocacy, coalition pressure, and the stories our patients and providers have shared,” Esteban Wood, director of advocacy, legislative affairs and community engagement for AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Southern Bureau, said in a legislative update shared March 10.

Wood said the amendment gives thousands of Floridians who woke up without access to their HIV medication a legislative vehicle moving through the process to restore that access. 

The measure also would require the Florida Department of Health to issue monthly reports on revenues, expenditures, rebates, enrollment, and utilization, adding a level of transparency Wood said the program has never had before.

Still, the amendment does not fully reverse the recent changes.

The funding would restore direct dispense only. It does not restore premium assistance, and it does not return Biktarvy to the formulary. Wood said those gaps remain significant and that comprehensive coverage is still critical to patient outcomes.

“This is bridge funding, not the final word,” Wood said.

He added that restoring premium assistance will remain a priority as lawmakers begin building the fiscal year 2027 budget, which starts July 1. 

The bill now heads to the House.

The legislative push is also unfolding alongside an ongoing legal challenge to the state’s emergency ADAP rules. An evidentiary hearing on a motion for preliminary injunction took place March 11 in Leon County Circuit Court. A separate hearing before the Division of Administrative Hearings challenging the emergency rules as invalid is scheduled for March 17 at 9 a.m. 

For now, the Senate vote marks a significant, though incomplete, step toward restoring access to HIV treatment in Florida.

“This is meaningful progress, but it is not the finish line,” Wood said. “We will keep pushing.”