ADAP in New York — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment

NY AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) serves 24,000 people, with an income eligibility cap at 500% of the federal poverty line. In New York 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. NY 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 New York 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 1-800-541-2437; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name Harlem United Community AIDS Center and NYC Health + Hospitals Jacobi HIV Clinic as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.

Harlem United Community AIDS Center. Harlem United is the largest Black-led HIV organization in the United States, operating an FQHC, scattered-site supportive housing for people living with HIV, Ryan White Part A case management for upper Manhattan and the Bronx, and a dedicated Black trans women's program on 125th Street.

NYC Health + Hospitals Jacobi HIV Clinic. The Jacobi HIV Clinic in the Bronx serves about 3,500 people living with HIV — more than 80% Black or Latino — and is one of the largest Ryan White Part A sites in New York City, co-located with the Jacobi adolescent HIV program that launched the city's first perinatal HIV elimination pilot.