Black Health
ADAP Montana

ADAP in Montana — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment

The number

Montana AIDS Drug Assistance Program supports 270 people living with HIV in Montana, with an income cap at 330% of the federal poverty line.

Ryan White Part B

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program

State ADAP

Montana AIDS Drug Assistance Program

Income cap 330% FPL

State PrEP-DAP

Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies

Call 1-406-444-0273 — Montana HIV info line

Montana AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility + enrollment

Montana AIDS Drug Assistance Program serves 270 people, with an income eligibility cap at 330% of the federal poverty line. In Montana that means your gross annual income can be up to $50,328 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. Montana 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 Montana 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 1-406-444-0273; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name Yellowstone AIDS Project and Open AID Alliance as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.

Yellowstone AIDS Project. Yellowstone AIDS Project in Billings is Montana's largest HIV community-based organization, operating Ryan White Part B case management across all 56 counties through a satellite office network in Missoula, Great Falls, and Helena.

Open AID Alliance. Open AID Alliance in Missoula is the state's only syringe services program and operates the Western Montana rapid-testing and PrEP navigation clinic on East Pine Street, the highest-volume HIV program west of the Continental Divide in Montana.

For Black families in Montana

Of the 700 people living with HIV in Montana, a disproportionate share are Black residents — 8% 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 Montana

  • Montana HIV info line: 1-406-444-0273 — staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
  • Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program landing page: https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/hivstd.
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers in Montana: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/mt/.
  • State health data for Montana: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/montana/.
  • Montana Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/montana/ for eligibility + enrollment.
  • NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project — the current national ADAP eligibility + formulary reference.

References & primary sources

Data refreshed: