FORT MYERS, Fla. – Former Florida governor Rick Scott is under fire from critics after a special investigation revealed that his administration had rejected a total of $ 70 million in federal funding for fight HIV and AIDS.

A survey conducted by The Guardian revealed that between 2015 and 2017, Scott had returned a $ 54 million federal grant that would have helped purchase prescription drugs for low-income patients.

The administration of former Governor Scott did not extend Medicaid to Florida, which means that the only way to get financial aid for prescription drugs would be if you were declared disabled and not as low income.

Governor Ron DeSantis told NBC2 that he had had private talks with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to seek financial support for HIV-positive patients.

"I was someone who took it very hard. I tried to kill myself, "said Marissa Gonzalez, who is living with HIV. "This diagnosis is no longer what it was. You can live a long, healthy life, "said Gonzalez.

In 2016, when Scott was governor, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area was ranked 16th in the nation for new HIV cases. Gonzalez was one of those cases and said that there was still a lot of stigma around HIV.

Gonzalez blames the government of former Gov. Scott for not being able to get help.

"I think everyone could have enjoyed it one way or another," concluded Gonzalez.

Sharon Murphy, founder and general manager of the McGregor Clinic, said the lack of expansion of Medicaid limited the clinic's ability to help some HIV-positive patients gain access to health care. She said that many people living with HIV could not pay for treatment.

"These drugs are very expensive and people without insurance often do not have access to the care they need," Murphy said.

According to Murphy, if former Gov. Scott had accepted the $ 70 million grant, patients would have access to their medications at a more affordable Medicaid rate.

Governor Scott did not respond directly to the NBC2 report. His office said that the characterizations performed were not accurate. As governor, they state that Senator Scott has invested record funds in HIV / AIDS prevention but has not provided more details on this claim.

"He is eager to support the efforts of the administration to ensure that everyone gets the care they need," concluded Scott's office.

Arlene Goldberg, LGBTQ rights advocate, believes Governor Scott would not be interested in the HIV epidemic, otherwise he would have accepted federal government grants.

Goldberg said that, more importantly, she wanted to know what Governor Ron DeSantis was going to do in the future.

"They should really take the money. Why stop and do not they do anything? Asked Goldberg.

Governor DeSantis said Wednesday at NBC2 in Naples that he had had meetings with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and that he was working on making changes.

"Not only do we take a look at it, I personally met the CDC in my office a few months ago and they are interested in providing a lot of money for the effort" , revealed DeSantis.

DeSantis said he hoped to reveal all the details of the plan soon.

"I hoped we could do it now but I did not get the approval of the federal government. I hope to be able to announce something quite robust by the end of the year, "said DeSantis.

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