HHS Announces More Than $1.4 Billion to Provide Lifesaving HIV Medications and Health Care Services

HRSA funding ensures that individuals with HIV who have low incomes receive lifesaving medication, quality HIV health care and essential support services. 

HRSA-supported AIDS Drug Assistance Programs pay for HIV medication, co-pays and co-insurance for HIV medication, and premiums for health insurance that covers HIV medication. This critical support helps individuals with HIV receive antiretroviral therapies, which help people reach viral suppression, meaning they cannot sexually transmit HIV and can live longer and healthier lives. Without access to lifesaving HIV medication provided by HRSA-supported AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, HIV medication could cost an individual more than $40,000 per year, putting it otherwise out of reach. 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.

Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm announced the awards during the opening plenary session of HRSA’s2024 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment in Washington, DC. More than 6,500 people are attending the convening, including Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grant recipients; federal, national, state, and local partners and organizations; health care and service delivery providers; and people with HIV. The theme for this year’s National Conference is “Innovating to End the HIV Epidemic: Empowering Communities, Expanding Partnerships, Implementing Interventions.”

HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS 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 convenes the National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment every two years to deliver program and policy updates, share innovative HIV interventions, and provide training and technical assistance. This biennial event provides a forum to share best practices and innovative strategies that empower participants and their communities to continue implementing a national response to reduce HIV-related health disparities and to end the HIV epidemic in the United States.