ADAP in Massachusetts — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment

HIV Drug Assistance Program (HDAP) serves 6,800 people, with an income eligibility cap at 500% of the federal poverty line. In Massachusetts 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. HIV Drug Assistance Program (HDAP)'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 Massachusetts 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 1-617-624-5300; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name Fenway Health and Boston Medical Center Center for Infectious Diseases as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.

Fenway Health. Fenway Health in Boston is the nation's oldest LGBTQ+ FQHC, operating the Fenway Institute research arm and serving about 3,000 people living with HIV; Fenway's Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center in Jamaica Plain is the state's highest-volume homeless-youth HIV program.

Boston Medical Center Center for Infectious Diseases. BMC's Center for Infectious Diseases in Boston is the Ryan White Part A backbone for the Boston EMA, serving about 3,400 people living with HIV — two-thirds Black or Latino — including Jamaica Plain's Center for Multicultural Mental Health and the Roxbury Community Health Center.