April 8, 2015–The largest AIDS-related medical provider in the U.S. is under fresh scrutiny after three former employees alleged a massive kickback scheme in federal court on April 3 [corrected date]. The kickbacks they describe refer to payments made for in-house patient referrals.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), owner of AIDS treatment clinics across the country funded partially by its “Out of the Closet” thrift stores offering quick and questionable “HIV tests” along with used merchandise, is no stranger to litigation. It recently filed suit itself against Dallas County, Texas, over the county’s plan to cut AHF’s access to federal funds under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program — a strategy it has also been deploying against nearby Tarrant County (Fort Worth).

Dallas County officials somehow considered Parkland Hospital more deserving of funds in a time of budget cuts; many former AHF patients end up there for treatment of cancer and other diseases documented as “side effects” of the drugs it administers. AHF disagreed and filed suit on March 13.

Several years ago, AHF was the subject of an article by “How Positive Are You” co-host Elizabeth Ely. She exposed the organization’s reasoning that, because drug maker Pfizer had recently marketed its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra® to a younger demographic, it was responsible for a rise in deaths among gay men as they mixed Viagra with crystal meth as a party drug. These deaths in turn led to a larger case load of patients at AHF clinics. Why this was a problem for AHF was not clear, as AHF’s clinics accept Medicare and Medicaid. And of course, the organization has been just a few days ago alleged even to pay money for in-house patient referrals — in effect, referrals from itself to itself, for example, from its HIV testing centers to its treatment clinics, and from there, to its in-house pharmacies.

AHF has generated controversy by its refusal to endorse Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a recommendation that all sexually active gay men take the drug Truvada® to prevent infection with “HIV.” Organization president Michael Weinstein has reportedly called it a “party drug,” a red flag as to the kinds of parties he goes to, but at least he intelligently questioned its effectiveness.

We are at a loss to understand AHF’s position, as it has been a fairly enthusiastic supporter of prescription drugs. Theories range from Weinstein’s contrarian media strategy to thwarting prevention efforts to generate more “HIV positives” for his business — all bizarre for an organization focused so intently on its financial bottom line, as we assume that it would administer PrEP as part of its mandate for AIDS prevention and treatment. We’re not sure of that, however. HPAY explored the shaky science behind PrEP in its Episode 87.