Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 - Wednesday, 3 April 1997
Christi Parsons, Chicago Tribune
The state will help pay for all four of the new protease inhibitor drugs for about 1,550 people with AIDS and the AIDS virus. Use of the four drugs has been shown to greatly improve the health of AIDS and HIV-positive patients.
Previously, the state helped patients pay for just one of the inhibitors. But it is use of the drugs in combination, or a "cocktail" mixture, that has shown promising signs of allowing patients to live longer.
The changes came in a $5 million appropriation passed by the legislature and signed in February by Gov. Jim Edgar, who also requested money to increase the program in his proposed 1998 budget.
The expansion of the subsidy program puts Illinois on a par with roughly half the states in the nation in helping patients pay for the whole class of protease inhibitors used by adults, said John Lumpkin, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, which administers the subsidy program.
Starting this week, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program will help qualifying applicants pay for the drugs Invirase, Crixivan, Norvir and Viracept.
To qualify,an AIDS or HIV-positive patient must have an annual income no greater than two times the federal poverty level and not be eligible for other aid.
The drive to increase the subsidy found widespread support in the state legislature.
The increased subsidies will help keep people working who otherwise would have had to quit their jobs in order to qualify for welfare, supporters say. Medicaid pays for most drugs used by AIDS patients.
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Copyright 1997/The Chicago Tribune. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611.
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