Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill that gives low-income Floridians three more months of access to essential HIV medication. 

The bill funds the state’s AIDS drug assistance program (ADAP), which gets medications to low-income and uninsured people living with HIV. Every state has an ADAP, and due to stagnant federal funds and rising health care costs, those programs have been struggling. In Florida, over 10,000 HIV-positive people were at risk of losing access to their medications after changes enacted by the state health agency to cut costs took effect on March 1. 

That blow to public health drew national attention: the Real Housewives recently took to Congress to advocate expanding access to HIV prevention and treatment. They specifically called out Florida’s new policy. 

Marysol Patton, one of the six original cast members in the first season of “The Real Housewives of Miami,” said that Florida’s cuts created uncertainty across the state.

“When programs like ADAP are weakened, working-class people can’t access this treatment,” she said. As of 2025, Florida ranks third in the nation for HIV diagnoses.

The bill DeSantis signed on Tuesday allocates nearly $31 million for the state to run its ADAP through June 30. It also restores eligibility requirements that allow more people to access HIV medications through the program. Low-income Floridians living at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level can access ADAP benefits again — at least until the end of June. 

Jon Harris Maurer, Equality Florida’s public policy director, said in a statement that the fight isn’t over. 

“Lawmakers must follow through with long-term funding in the state budget to ensure that this does not become a public health crisis once again,” he said. “We are deeply grateful to the HIV advocates and providers who worked tirelessly to raise the alarm.” 

Republican and Democratic lawmakers worked to push the emergency stopgap funding through, the Miami Herald reports. The bill passed unanimously through the state legislature. It does not undo the state’s plans to stop covering Biktarvy, the most widely prescribed antiretroviral medication nationally. Despite the limitations, advocates said that the law provides much-needed relief. 

“For ten weeks, 12,000 Floridians living with HIV did not know if they could fill their next prescription,” said Esteban Wood, director of advocacy and legislative affairs at AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Today, they can.”