ADAP in District of Columbia — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment
The number
DC AIDS Drug Assistance Program (DC ADAP) supports 3,900 people living with HIV in District of Columbia, with an income cap at 500% of the federal poverty line.
Ryan White Part B
DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA)
State ADAP
DC AIDS Drug Assistance Program (DC ADAP)
Income cap 500% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
DC PrEP Drug Assistance Program
DC AIDS Drug Assistance Program (DC ADAP) eligibility + enrollment
DC AIDS Drug Assistance Program (DC ADAP) serves 3,900 people, with an income eligibility cap at 500% of the federal poverty line. In District of Columbia that means your gross annual income can be up to $76,255 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. DC AIDS Drug Assistance Program (DC 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 District of Columbia 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 1-202-671-4900; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc. and Whitman-Walker Health as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.
Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc.. Us Helping Us on Georgia Avenue NW is the oldest Black-gay-men's HIV organization in the United States, founded in 1985, operating rapid testing, peer navigation, clinical trials recruitment, and the annual US Helping Us Black Same Gender Loving Men's Leadership Conference.
Whitman-Walker Health. Whitman-Walker Health operates three FQHC sites across DC and is the backbone of DC's Ryan White Part A program, serving more than 7,000 people living with HIV — the majority Black — with the Max Robinson Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE anchoring Ward 8 services.
For Black families in District of Columbia
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 12,300 people living with HIV in District of Columbia, a disproportionate share are Black residents — 73% 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.
Named HIV testing + PrEP sites in District of Columbia
Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc.
Washington, DC • 1-202-446-1100
Whitman-Walker Health — 1525 14th St
Washington, DC • 1-202-745-7000
Whitman-Walker Health — Max Robinson Center
Washington, DC • 1-202-797-3500
La Clinica del Pueblo — Columbia Heights
Washington, DC • 1-202-462-4788
Family and Medical Counseling Service (FMCS)
Washington, DC • 1-202-889-7900
Unity Health Care — East of the River Health Center
Washington, DC • 1-202-232-3636
Howard University Hospital Infectious Diseases Clinic
Washington, DC • 1-202-865-1186
Where to get help in District of Columbia
- District of Columbia HIV info line: 1-202-671-4900 — staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA) landing page: https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/hivaids-hepatitis-std-and-tb-administration-hahsta.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in District of Columbia: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/dc/.
- State health data for District of Columbia: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/district-of-columbia/.
- District of Columbia Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/district-of-columbia/ for eligibility + enrollment.
- NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project — the current national ADAP eligibility + formulary reference.
References & primary sources
- DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA): https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/hivaids-hepatitis-std-and-tb-administration-hahsta.
- CDC HIV Surveillance Report 2022: cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html. Source for state-level new diagnoses and race-stratified counts.
- HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantee list: ryanwhite.hrsa.gov/grants/part-b.
- NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project 2024 Annual Report: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project. Source for ADAP income cap + enrollment + PrEP-DAP data.
- AIDSVu state profile: aidsvu.org/state/district-of-columbia/.
- Kaiser Family Foundation, The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program fact sheet: kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/the-ryan-white-hivaids-program.
Data refreshed: