The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the HHS has “announced more than $1.4 billion in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding for the HRSA AIDS Drug Assistance Program and related awards.” HHS's website has the news.
The HRSA AIDS Drug Assistance Program pays “for HIV medication, co-pays and co-insurance for HIV medication, and premiums for health insurance that covers HIV medication.” Without this support, “HIV medication could cost an individual more than $40,000 per year, putting it otherwise out of reach.”
Andrea Palm, HHS Deputy Secretary, stated that the funding “makes it possible for people with HIV to access life-saving medication and treatment that are proven to improve health outcomes, reduce HIV transmission, and save lives.” The program “provides a comprehensive system of HIV primary medical care, medication, and needed support services to more than 560,000 people with HIV who have low incomes. The program focuses on tailoring approaches to best meet people with HIV and their communities where they are, including by addressing social determinants of health – like housing, transportation, and food access – that directly affect the ability of patients to enter and stay in care and access treatment services. In 2022, 89.6 percent of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving medical care were virally suppressed, compared to 69.5 percent in 2010.”
HRSA “supports critical HIV care and medication in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and six U.S. Pacific territories.”
