Lambda Legal Urges Mississippi Governor to Block Harmful New Prescription Cap Law for Medicaid Recipients

(Jackson, Mississippi, June 30, 2005) — In a letter sent today to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Lambda Legal and a coalition of state and national groups urged him to prevent the implementation of a law that restricts Medicaid recipients to five prescriptions a month only two of which can be brand-name medications—the policy will be devastating to Medicaid recipients who have HIV and others with chronic illness. The law, which Lambda Legal says violates the Medicaid Act and the American’s with Disabilities Act, is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. “Doctors should be the ones who decide how many prescriptions a patient can have per month—not the government,” said Jon Givner HIV Project Director for Lambda Legal. “People will die as a result of this law. It is imperative that Governor Barbour block implementation.” The letter, sent by Lambda Legal, Housing Works and a coalition of Mississippi and national organizations, describes the harmful effects of the law: “Individuals living with conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, diabetes, heart disease, HIV and certain types of cancer commonly rely on six or more prescription medications to maintain their health. Moreover, effective generic drugs are not available for some conditions, leaving patients to rely on brand-name medications. For example, HB 1104 will have devastating effects on people living with HIV. Current standards for treatment of HIV disease call for a combination of three or more medications from two or more drug classes. Notably, there are only twenty FDA-approved medications for treatment of HIV disease, and almost none is available in generic form in the United States. For these reasons, people living with HIV must have access to three separate brand-name prescription medications, and often more than two additional generic medications, to avoid serious illness and death.” Groups signing on to the letter include: AIDS Action In Mississippi, American Academy of HIV Medicine, Equality Mississippi, Grace House, HIV Medicine Association, Housing Works, Lambda Legal, Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, Mississippi Episcopal AIDS Committee, Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, Mississippi Human Services Coalition, and National Health Law Program.

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Jackie Yodashkin P: 212-809-8585 ext. 229; E: jyodashkin@lambdalegal.org

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.