State asks for $700k for public records in lawsuit over AIDS healthcare funding
By Carlton Gillespie
February 12, 2026 at 6:07 PM EST
The Florida Department of Health has issued a staggering invoice for public records in response to a lawsuit related to the department's decision to alter the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
ADAP was previously open to those who make around $60,000 dollars per year. But in January the state changed that requirement to people who make around $20,000 per year. The changes would have gone into effect on March 1 but the state was sued by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) for failing to adhere to a formal rules making process. That process includes a public comment period.
The state has since complied and announced formal changes.
The AHF also sued the state for failing to comply with a public records request related to the department's decision to alter ADAP.
In response to the public records suit, the state sent a $786,507.36 invoice to review and prepare the nearly 2 million emails the state says are relevant to AHF's public records request.
AHF calls the invoice a "ransom note."
“This is flat out extortion to cover the Department of Health’s violation of Florida’s legal rulemaking process,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF.
“This is a ransom note effectively crafted to prevent any information about the DOH’s arbitrary, illegal, and punitive move to rewrite ADAP eligibility, a very clear violation of Florida’s sunshine law, and a move that threatens the lives of thousands of Floridians living with HIV.”
The state has said cuts to ADAP are necessary to avoid a $120 dollar million shortfall, but have yet to substantiate that claim.
READ MORE: 'People will die': Protesters march to restore funding for HIV/AIDS medications
This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.
ADAP was previously open to those who make around $60,000 dollars per year. But in January the state changed that requirement to people who make around $20,000 per year. The changes would have gone into effect on March 1 but the state was sued by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) for failing to adhere to a formal rules making process. That process includes a public comment period.
The state has since complied and announced formal changes.
The AHF also sued the state for failing to comply with a public records request related to the department's decision to alter ADAP.
In response to the public records suit, the state sent a $786,507.36 invoice to review and prepare the nearly 2 million emails the state says are relevant to AHF's public records request.
AHF calls the invoice a "ransom note."
“This is flat out extortion to cover the Department of Health’s violation of Florida’s legal rulemaking process,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF.
“This is a ransom note effectively crafted to prevent any information about the DOH’s arbitrary, illegal, and punitive move to rewrite ADAP eligibility, a very clear violation of Florida’s sunshine law, and a move that threatens the lives of thousands of Floridians living with HIV.”
The state has said cuts to ADAP are necessary to avoid a $120 dollar million shortfall, but have yet to substantiate that claim.
READ MORE: 'People will die': Protesters march to restore funding for HIV/AIDS medications
This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.