Federal Program To Provide Care For Patients With HIV Facing Budget Constraints

The Washington Post (6/26, Whitehead, Beard) reports, “Researchers say that by the end of the decade, 70 percent of people in the United States living with HIV will be older than 50. Thanks to advances in medicine, the diagnosis is no longer a death sentence.” However, “there’s a catch: People living with HIV are at increased risk for other health problems, such as diabetes, depression and heart disease,” and “as their health needs increase, more is required of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the comprehensive federal system that provides HIV primary medical care, medications and essential support services for low-income people living with the virus.” A KFF analysis found inflation-adjusted spending for the program “has dropped from a peak in the early 2000s, despite the program serving tens of thousands of new patients.”