ADAP in Tennessee — AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility and enrollment
The number
Tennessee AIDS Drug Assistance Program supports 5,400 people living with HIV in Tennessee, with an income cap at 400% of the federal poverty line.
Ryan White Part B
Tennessee Department of Health, HIV/STD Program
State ADAP
Tennessee AIDS Drug Assistance Program
Income cap 400% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies
Tennessee AIDS Drug Assistance Program eligibility + enrollment
Tennessee AIDS Drug Assistance Program serves 5,400 people, with an income eligibility cap at 400% of the federal poverty line. In Tennessee that means your gross annual income can be up to $61,004 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. Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 1-615-741-8530; the case-management team can match you to the nearest Ryan White clinic for same-week intake. Long-time Black residents name Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic and Friends for Life Corporation as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.
Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic. Vanderbilt's Comprehensive Care Clinic in Nashville is Tennessee's largest Ryan White Part C grantee, serving about 3,700 people living with HIV across middle Tennessee; Vanderbilt hosts the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance community research partnership with Meharry Medical College.
Friends for Life Corporation. Friends for Life in Memphis is the Ryan White Part A case-management backbone for the Memphis EMA, serving about 2,200 clients across Shelby, Fayette, and Tipton counties and operating the state's highest-volume Black-community-focused rapid-testing program on Cooper Street.
For Black families in Tennessee
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 19,800 people living with HIV in Tennessee, a disproportionate share are Black residents — 59% 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 Tennessee
Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic
Nashville, TN • 1-615-467-0154
Friends for Life Corporation — Memphis
Memphis, TN • 1-901-272-0855
Nashville CARES
Nashville, TN • 1-615-259-4866
Regional One Health Ryan White Adult Special Care Center
Memphis, TN • 1-901-545-6969
Shelby County Health Department — Memphis STD/HIV Clinic
Memphis, TN • 1-901-222-9000
OutMemphis
Memphis, TN • 1-901-278-6422
Chattanooga CARES
Chattanooga, TN • 1-423-265-2273
East Tennessee AIDS Response (ETAR) — Knoxville
Knoxville, TN • 1-865-525-1540
Where to get help in Tennessee
- Tennessee HIV info line: 1-615-741-8530 — staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- Tennessee Department of Health, HIV/STD Program landing page: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/hiv-std.html.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Tennessee: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/tn/.
- State health data for Tennessee: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/tennessee/.
- Tennessee Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/tennessee/ for eligibility + enrollment.
- NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project — the current national ADAP eligibility + formulary reference.
References & primary sources
- Tennessee Department of Health, HIV/STD Program: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/hiv-std.html.
- 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/tennessee/.
- 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: