Mass. Prisoners Sue for HIV Medication

Prisoners in Massachusetts are suing the state after it has altered the way it disperses drugs to treat HIV, according to the Boston Globe.

The suit, which is expected to be filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Boston, claims authorities discourage inmates from taking the drugs in order to save the state from spending millions of dollars annually on the treatment. New guidelines require inmates to receive their daily meds in an infirmary as opposed to taking them in the privacy of their own cell, as was previously the standard method before the Keep On Person was implemented.

"The removal of HIV medications from the Keep On Person program is callous and extremely shortsighted, as patients who refuse or are unable to go to the med line, or who miss doses because of the chronic defects in the med line process, will become more sick," says the suit, which is being filed by five prisoners with HIV.

In Massachusetts as many as 300 inmates receive medication for HIV.