'People will die': Protesters march to restore funding for HIV/AIDS medications
By Carlton Gillespie
February 3, 2026 at 12:59 PM EST
Update: The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday morning announced it would now go through its formal rules making process before finalizing cuts to ADAP. It is unclear what effect this will have on the program
Tori Samuel has been able to live a normal life despite being HIV positive for over two decades, thanks to medication that keeps the virus suppressed and untransmittable.
“ I have been married for 15 years now. My husband is not HIV positive. I have three biological kids, one is 22 and a set of twins that are 12, and they are not positive. And that's because I have access to my medication,” she said.
A series of drastic changes announced by the Florida Department of Health in January would mean people like her could have to pay thousands of dollars per month for treatment — something she would not be able to afford.
Samuel was one of the sixty or so people who met in front of the Department of Health building in Fort Lauderdale Monday night for a candlelight vigil, before marching up SR-84 to Sunshine Cathedral for a town hall. She drove down from Ocala to protest the state’s changes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
The Florida DOH's changes to ADAP include reducing the income eligibility for the program from 400% of the federal poverty level ($62,600 per year) to 130% of the federal poverty level ( $20,345 per year). The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) estimates that the change will cause 16,000 Floridians to lose either their medication or payment assistance for their health insurance that pays for the drugs on March 1. That includes 2,800 people in Broward County.
READ MORE: State sued over new rule that restricts access to HIV/AIDS medication for low-income patients
Samuel is one of those people. “ I am living with HIV and I've been living with it for 23 years now. Virally suppressed, doing great, and I cannot allow this to go into effect because ADAP has helped me pay for my medications,” she said.
Samuel is one of those people. Her medications have allowed her to live a normal life while HIV positive. Her medication keeps the virus suppressed and untransmittable.
“ I have been married for 15 years now. My husband is not HIV positive. I have three biological kids, one is 22 and a set of twins that are 12, and they are not positive. And that's because I have access to my medication,” she said.
The changes would also remove the drug Biktarvy from coverage. Biktarvy is a very popular one-a-day pill that has limited side-effects. Samuel began taking Biktarvy eight years ago after years of dealing with the harsh side effects of other treatments.
“ I've had kidney problems. I've had one medicine that had me where I had jaundice-like symptoms to where my eyes were almost the color of Mountain Dew,” she said.
Fernando Hermida holds a bottle of Biktarvy, his HIV medication, in Charlotte, N.C., on May 27, 2024. Hermida received a $1,275 bill earlier this year for the medication, one of the reasons he decided to move to find more affordable treatment. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld) (4240x2832, AR: 1.497175141242938)
But if the changes do go into effect on March 1, she will not be able to afford it anymore.
“A 30-day supply with no insurance can run between $5,000 to $6,000 a month. And even if you are working, who can really throw that amount of money out on just a 30-day supply of medicine?” she said.
The protest was organized by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). The organization has launched two separate lawsuits against the state. In January, they filed in the Division of Administrative Hearings in Tallahassee, claiming that the state illegally changed rules regarding income eligibility thresholds for ADAP without having gone through the mandatory rule making process.
Their second lawsuit, filed this week in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, alleges that the state is withholding public records related to the rule change, including information about the state’s claim that the program faces a $120 million dollar shortfall.
'Dangerous for whole communities'
Bill Russell is a registered nurse who said he came to the protest out of a strong sense of duty. He says that with reduced access to HIV medication, the disease can be dangerous not just for the individual affected, but whole communities.
“ I've seen thousands of people die from this disease. The magic of science has created meds that can prevent the transmission of this disease, and I cannot believe funding is being cut for these meds. People will die without these meds,” he said.
State officials said the changes in income eligibility requirements are driven by the failure of Congress last year to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But AHF says they haven’t seen any evidence to back those claims up.
“We don’t know that’s a fact… There have been third-hand statements, but no evidence of this. The number that's been floated around is $120 million. We don't know where that comes from. All of these things can be resolved and found out if you follow the normal processes, and that wasn't done here,” said Tom Myers, AHF’s chief of public affairs and general counsel. “ We don't know why a program that already receives over $80 million a year from the federal government somehow has a $120 million deficit.”
AHF was awarded an expedited legal challenge for its first lawsuit, and a hearing is scheduled on Feb. 18.
Tori Samuel has been able to live a normal life despite being HIV positive for over two decades, thanks to medication that keeps the virus suppressed and untransmittable.
“ I have been married for 15 years now. My husband is not HIV positive. I have three biological kids, one is 22 and a set of twins that are 12, and they are not positive. And that's because I have access to my medication,” she said.
A series of drastic changes announced by the Florida Department of Health in January would mean people like her could have to pay thousands of dollars per month for treatment — something she would not be able to afford.
Samuel was one of the sixty or so people who met in front of the Department of Health building in Fort Lauderdale Monday night for a candlelight vigil, before marching up SR-84 to Sunshine Cathedral for a town hall. She drove down from Ocala to protest the state’s changes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
The Florida DOH's changes to ADAP include reducing the income eligibility for the program from 400% of the federal poverty level ($62,600 per year) to 130% of the federal poverty level ( $20,345 per year). The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) estimates that the change will cause 16,000 Floridians to lose either their medication or payment assistance for their health insurance that pays for the drugs on March 1. That includes 2,800 people in Broward County.
READ MORE: State sued over new rule that restricts access to HIV/AIDS medication for low-income patients
Samuel is one of those people. “ I am living with HIV and I've been living with it for 23 years now. Virally suppressed, doing great, and I cannot allow this to go into effect because ADAP has helped me pay for my medications,” she said.
Samuel is one of those people. Her medications have allowed her to live a normal life while HIV positive. Her medication keeps the virus suppressed and untransmittable.
“ I have been married for 15 years now. My husband is not HIV positive. I have three biological kids, one is 22 and a set of twins that are 12, and they are not positive. And that's because I have access to my medication,” she said.
The changes would also remove the drug Biktarvy from coverage. Biktarvy is a very popular one-a-day pill that has limited side-effects. Samuel began taking Biktarvy eight years ago after years of dealing with the harsh side effects of other treatments.
“ I've had kidney problems. I've had one medicine that had me where I had jaundice-like symptoms to where my eyes were almost the color of Mountain Dew,” she said.
Fernando Hermida holds a bottle of Biktarvy, his HIV medication, in Charlotte, N.C., on May 27, 2024. Hermida received a $1,275 bill earlier this year for the medication, one of the reasons he decided to move to find more affordable treatment. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld) (4240x2832, AR: 1.497175141242938)
But if the changes do go into effect on March 1, she will not be able to afford it anymore.
“A 30-day supply with no insurance can run between $5,000 to $6,000 a month. And even if you are working, who can really throw that amount of money out on just a 30-day supply of medicine?” she said.
The protest was organized by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). The organization has launched two separate lawsuits against the state. In January, they filed in the Division of Administrative Hearings in Tallahassee, claiming that the state illegally changed rules regarding income eligibility thresholds for ADAP without having gone through the mandatory rule making process.
Their second lawsuit, filed this week in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, alleges that the state is withholding public records related to the rule change, including information about the state’s claim that the program faces a $120 million dollar shortfall.
'Dangerous for whole communities'
Bill Russell is a registered nurse who said he came to the protest out of a strong sense of duty. He says that with reduced access to HIV medication, the disease can be dangerous not just for the individual affected, but whole communities.
“ I've seen thousands of people die from this disease. The magic of science has created meds that can prevent the transmission of this disease, and I cannot believe funding is being cut for these meds. People will die without these meds,” he said.
State officials said the changes in income eligibility requirements are driven by the failure of Congress last year to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But AHF says they haven’t seen any evidence to back those claims up.
“We don’t know that’s a fact… There have been third-hand statements, but no evidence of this. The number that's been floated around is $120 million. We don't know where that comes from. All of these things can be resolved and found out if you follow the normal processes, and that wasn't done here,” said Tom Myers, AHF’s chief of public affairs and general counsel. “ We don't know why a program that already receives over $80 million a year from the federal government somehow has a $120 million deficit.”
AHF was awarded an expedited legal challenge for its first lawsuit, and a hearing is scheduled on Feb. 18.