As a member of both the LBGTQ+ community and the Florida House of Representatives, I am alarmed at proposed changes to Florida’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and am working to prevent these changes.
More than 30,000 patients living with HIV across Florida are holding their breath as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration aims to cut funding for lifesaving medications these patients depend on. More than half, about 16,000, would lose access altogether as the cost of their medications would be more than $4,000 per month without insurance.
As a social worker, I assure you this will impact patient care, increase emergency room costs and increase the spread of HIV throughout the state.
Of equal concern is timing. The governor’s proposal to cancel the ADAP program came at the end of the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period, meaning his proposal to cut ADAP funding on March 1 will have given enrollees almost no time to prepare.
Transparency and accountability are wholly absent from this plan. There’s been no public notice of proposed changes and no venue for public comment, as required by Florida law. Nor has there been any fiscal review. Florida needs to show where ADAP funding comes from, how it is spent and why it is slated for such drastic cuts before this administration’s plan can be implemented.
I’m working to bring this entire debacle into the sunshine. Let your voice be heard by calling your legislators. You may reach out to my office.
Mitch Rosenwald, Oakland Park
The writer represents District 98 in the Florida House.
Stay immunized
Ivermectin can help people co-infected with COVID-19 and strongyloides (a parasitic roundworm). But for COVID-19 alone, it’s a “no.” This has been established by many studies.
When so-called improvements in patients with COVID were originally reported, they came from places where strongyloides infections were present in the population (Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia). Where there was little or no strongyloides, there was no improvement.
Ivermectin is thus no substitute for Paxlovid and other methods of treating COVID-19. The best treatment is immunization. Yes, it can have rare side effects, but they’re much less than the disease itself. Sorry, but in life, there’s no free lunch.
Stephen Garramone, M.D., Melbourne
The right to vote by mail
Donald Trump’s push to eliminate or severely restrict mail-in voting is not about protecting elections. It’s about limiting who participates.
I live in Boca Raton. My elderly mother has almost no mobility. Without mail-in voting, her right to vote would effectively disappear. She is far from alone. Seniors, disabled citizens and caregivers across Florida depend on mail-in ballots to exercise a basic constitutional right.
What makes this especially painful is my family history. My mother lost her brother in World War II when his plane was shot down over London. Her family lost a son and a brother fighting for democracy so that Americans would have more rights, not fewer.
It’s hard to accept that a draft-dodging convicted felon claims the authority to decide whose votes matter and whose don’t. Mail-in voting is not a threat to democracy. Denying access to the ballot is. We should be expanding participation in democracy, not restricting it.
Sherry Zimet, Boca Raton
The last straw
The meme that Trump posted showing the Obamas as apes was the last straw. This is beneath the dignity of the office of president.
Maybe a 10-year-old boy would do that, but certainly not the president. There has to be some standard of decency in the United States that all politicians must follow. Trump is obviously unfit for office and must be removed.
It now appears Jeffrey Epstein is not the only “creep.”
Jeff Gillespie, Hollywood
Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/02/12/working-to-save-hiv-treatments-letters-to-the-editor/
