Penn was only 1 of 4 that nelf was not already on:
Pennsylvania Adds Viracept to State Drug Assistance Program
After long delays, State Public Welfare Secretary Feather O. Houstoun announced that on Saturday, November 1, Viracept (the Agouron protease inhibitor, which was approved by the FDA in March) will be added to the Pennsylvania Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program (SPBP) list of eligible drugs for treatment of HIV. Until Saturday, Pennsylvania had been one of only 4 states which did not include this important new protease inhibitor on its formulary of drugs covered by the state AIDS drug assistance program (ADAP). Since the time it was approved last March, advocates, including Critical Path, ACT UP and a number of consumer and AIDS services groups, had been demanding that the drug be added to the formulary. Protease inibitors, as a class, had been approved by the program in the spring of 1996, so the delay was not well understood.
Every state has an ADAP (AIDS drug assistance program). This federal program is administered by the grantee--the state. To be eligible for the SPBP, individuals must reside in Pennsylvania but not in an institution where those medications are available; have an individual gross income of less than $30,000. Families get an additional $2480 per child allowance when determining upper limit of income. For example, a family with two children could earn up to $35,000 and still be eligible for this free AIDS drugs program.
What You Can Do: Applications are available from county assistance offices, AIDS service agencies (including Critical Path AIDS Project, (215) 545-2212), hospital social service departments, state health centers, hemophilia and renal dialysis centers, mental health centers and some physicians and pharmacies. Be sure your application is marked MA 366 - 4/95 in Burgundy ink on white paper or MA 366s - 7/95 (Spanish version).
Individuals interested in more information about the program or application can call the department's toll-free hotline at 1-800-922-9384, or (717) 772-6057 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. or by writing to: Department of Public Welfare, Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program, PO Box 8021, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
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BACKGROUND: The Pennsylvania SPBP, prior to the new addition, offered the following drugs: Retrovir (AZT), aerosolized pentamidine (AP), Alpha-Interferon (IV), Azithromycin, Ganciclovir, Videx (ddI), Hivid (zalcitabine, ddC), Zovirax (acyclovir), Foscavir (foscarnet), Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Bactrim/Septra (TMP-SMZ), Dapsone (DDS), Mycelex (clotrimazole), Nizoral (ketoconazole), Neutrexin (trimetrexate glucuronate for injection) with Leucovorin, Zerit (stavudine, D4T), Megace (megestrol acetate). As of November 1993 Diflucan (fluconazole) is covered for all FDA-approved indications; formerly, it was only available treat cryptococcal meningitis, but now can be used for any antifungal purpose. During the winter of 1995, the Pennsylvania SPBP added five more drugs to the list: Mycobutin (rifabutin), Biaxin (clarithromycin), Mepron (atovaquone), Sporanox (Itraconazole), Marinol (dronabinol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). On December 1, 1995, the Pennsylvania SPBP added 31 more drugs and payments for pentamidine treatment to the list: Amikacin, Amphotericin B, Bleomycin, Capreomycin, Clindamycin, Clofazimine, Cycloserine, Dexamethasone, Doxorubicin (Doxil), 3TC (Epivir), Ethambutol, Ethionamide, Etoposide, Blucytosine, Isoniazid, Kanamycin Sulfate, Nystatin, Ofloxacin, Paramomycin Sulfate (Humatin), Prednisone, Primaquine Phosphate, Pyrazinamide, Rifampin, Rifater, Sulfadiazine, Sulfadoxine/Pyrimethamine, Terconazole, Triple Sulfa, Vinblastine Sulfate, Vincristine. Saquinavir (Hoffman-LaRoche's protease inhibitor) was added Feb. 21, 1996--as the whole class of protease inhibitors. And Indinavir (Merck's protease inhibitor) and Ritonavir (Abbott's protease inhibitor) were added on July 22nd. Finally, a number of disposable medical supplies used for intravenous Ganciclovir and Foscavir treatments are now available through the program. These supplies include disposable home pumps, sterile water, and various tubing and needles. CD4 T-cell tests and viral load tests are available to SPBP clients through the Department of Health. Call 1-800-662-6080 to find out the location of a test site in your area.
Some drugs that still need to be added: nevirapine (Viramune), delavirdine (Rescriptor), and testosterone patches (Androderm and TestoDerm) and testosterone enanthate (IM injections). |
