Introduction

The California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS (OA), AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) assists eligible Californians, by providing coverage or copay assistance for medications listed on the ADAP formulary. ADAP’s focus is coverage for medications used for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other opportunistic infections; however, ADAP’s formulary also lists other medications to improve the overall health of its clients. The process for adding medications to the ADAP formulary is directed by California Health and Safety Code (HSC) 120955 (a) (2), which requires ADAP to work in consultation with its Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) to create and maintain the ADAP drug formulary. Additionally, HSC 120966 requires (in part):

• Antiretroviral medications be recommended for addition by the ADAP MAC;
• ADAP to add any antiretroviral (ARV), that does not pose a significant cost to the program or would not require the removal of another ARV; and
• ADAP to conduct a cost analysis to determine if an ARV/medication is “fiscally” reasonable to add.

Proposing medications for addition to the ADAP Formulary

If a member of the public/stakeholder would like to request a specific medication be added to the ADAP formulary, the requestor must submit the proposed medication on a Request for Medication Addition (RMA) form. The form will be reviewed by the Office of AIDS Medical Officer who will determine which medications move forward for discussion with the ADAP MAC during the quarterly ADAP MAC meetings. 

The RMA form is only available upon written request. Individuals interested in requesting this form must submit an email request to the ADAP MAC email box at: CDPHADAPMedicalAdvisoryCommittee@cdph.ca.gov.