Enzi: Record Number Waiting For Life-Saving AIDS Treatment
Republican HELP Committee Leader Concerned By Lack of HHS Response And Unprecedented Number of Patients Stalled on Waiting Lists
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) has sent a second request to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius voicing his concern regarding the record 1,800 individuals waiting to receive life-saving treatment through the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) administered under the Ryan White program. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), fellow Committee members, joined Enzi in writing Sebelius.
“We are concerned that to date we have not received a response to our April 22 inquiry and hope that the lack of a response is not a reflection of the Administration’s lack of a commitment to the Ryan White program and the patients it serves,” wrote the Senators.
“We request that you take urgent action to eliminate ADAP waiting lists and undue formulary restrictions. We also expect a response to our request detailing any efforts underway at the Department to make programmatic changes to resolve this issue. We are deeply concerned with the failure to respond to our initial inquiry and would request that you provide a timely response to all pending inquiries by July 9th. The thousands of patients waiting for life-saving treatment through ADAP deserve nothing less,” concluded the Senators.
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