People living with HIV don’t know when their next refills will come for lifesaving medication, more than a year after the Virginia Department of Health cut funding to HIV clinics serving people who can’t afford healthcare.
Many clients of Virginia clinics that lost such funding are weeks away from running out of antiretroviral medication, some providers said. And nonprofit providers around the state said lawmakers’ efforts to restore some funding to clinics won’t be enough to make up losses.
The problem started under former Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Shelton, when VDH cut two-thirds of its funding to HIV safety net clinics last year. The cuts made up for a costly accounting error by VDH that led to a nearly $17 million dip in annual rebates paid to the department by the HIV drug manufacturer Gilead in 2024…