ADAP in Illinois — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment

Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program serves 11,200 people, with an income eligibility cap at 500% of the federal poverty line. In Illinois 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. Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program'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 Illinois 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 1-800-243-2437; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name Howard Brown Health and Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center (Cook County Health) as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.

Howard Brown Health. Howard Brown Health in Chicago is the Midwest's largest LGBTQ+ FQHC, operating 11 clinics across Cook County, the Ryan White Part B care coordination for the Chicago EMA, and the Broadway Youth Center — a homeless-youth-centered HIV testing and PrEP program on the North Side.

Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center (Cook County Health). The CORE Center on Chicago's West Side is the Ryan White Part A grantee for the Chicago EMA, serving more than 5,500 people living with HIV, the vast majority Black and Latino; the CORE Center is the training home for Chicago's HIV primary-care workforce.