Black Health
ADAP Alabama

ADAP in Alabama — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment

The number

Alabama AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) supports 6,400 people living with HIV in Alabama, with an income cap at 250% of the federal poverty line.

Ryan White Part B

Alabama Department of Public Health, Division of HIV Prevention and Care

State ADAP

Alabama AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)

Income cap 250% FPL

State PrEP-DAP

Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies

Call 1-800-228-0469 — Alabama HIV info line

Alabama AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) eligibility + enrollment

Alabama AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) serves 6,400 people, with an income eligibility cap at 250% of the federal poverty line. In Alabama that means your gross annual income can be up to $38,127 for a household of one (at 2025 HHS poverty guidelines) and you still qualify. ADAP is the 'payer of last resort' for HIV medications: it covers people with no insurance, fills the gap for people on Medicare Part D, and pays co-pays for people on commercial insurance.

What ADAP covers: all FDA-approved antiretroviral medications on the state formulary (every ADAP covers the WHO-recommended first-line regimens), plus many opportunistic-infection prophylaxis drugs, lab work in states where the ADAP pays for labs directly, and in some states hepatitis B and C treatment. Alabama AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)'s formulary is published on the state health department website and is updated at least annually.

How to enroll: a case manager at a Ryan White Part B or Part C clinic completes the application with you. You'll need proof of HIV diagnosis (a lab report or physician letter), proof of Alabama residency, proof of income (pay stubs, tax return, benefit letter), and documentation of insurance status. Decisions typically return within two weeks; medications are dispensed through participating pharmacies at no cost once you're enrolled. Recertification is annual.

The state HIV info line is 1-800-228-0469; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name 1917 Clinic at UAB and Medical Advocacy and Outreach (MAO) — Montgomery as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.

1917 Clinic at UAB. The 1917 Clinic at UAB Hospital in Birmingham is the largest Ryan White Part C clinic in Alabama and one of the five largest in the Deep South; its CFAR-affiliated research center runs the state's HIV implementation science portfolio.

Medical Advocacy and Outreach (MAO) — Montgomery. Medical Advocacy and Outreach in Montgomery operates five Ryan White-funded clinics across south-central Alabama, including Selma AIR. MAO's mobile testing unit circulates through the Black Belt counties that anchor Alabama's HIV burden.

For Black families in Alabama

The South carries the heaviest HIV burden in the country: Black Southern residents make up roughly 14% of the U.S. population but account for more than half of new Black HIV diagnoses nationally. Of the 13,800 people living with HIV in Alabama, a disproportionate share are Black residents — 69% of the new diagnoses each year, same proportion or higher of the cumulative prevalence. ADAP is what keeps many of those residents virally suppressed, because the alternative — paying retail for daily antiretrovirals — would run roughly $30,000-$40,000 a year. If your income has you worried about whether you qualify, call the state HIV line first. Ryan White case managers know the eligibility rules better than most insurance navigators and will pull you through the application rather than bouncing you to paperwork.

Where to get help in Alabama

  • Alabama HIV info line: 1-800-228-0469 — staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
  • Alabama Department of Public Health, Division of HIV Prevention and Care landing page: https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/hiv/.
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers in Alabama: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/al/.
  • State health data for Alabama: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/alabama/.
  • Alabama Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/alabama/ for eligibility + enrollment.
  • NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project — the current national ADAP eligibility + formulary reference.

References & primary sources

Data refreshed: