"People in the United States seem to have grown complacent and forgotten that HIV/AIDS is not just a problem overseas, but one here in our own nation. With as many as 1.1 million people in our country living with HIV/AIDS, our government, through passing a new Ryan White CARE Act, must ensure that lifesaving drugs, medical care, and social services are provided to those in need, wherever they live."
"Continued flat funding for CARE Act programs will do little to help eliminate current waiting lists, and nothing to extend care and treatment to people who aren't even on those lists. Instead, it will only serve to pit city against city and state against state for the limited dollars available. A person's ability to receive treatment should not depend upon where in the country they live."
"The Ryan White CARE Act works -- that is why it must be reauthorized. In the devastation following Hurricane Katrina, one of the only bright notes was that the Ryan White/ADAP system in states across the country went into high gear to assure that poor patients could access their life-saving medications. The CARE Act and the systems it has created serve as a model for all medical care in the U.S."
"Ryan taught us that AIDS can strike anyone, anywhere. As we work together to renew the Ryan White CARE Act, I urge the Congress and the Administration to provide adequate funding so that everyone who is in need of these lifesaving medications and medical care, can have the chance to live productive, healthy and longer lives."
"With as many as 1.1 million people in the U.S. living today with HIV/AIDS, and nearly 3 out of 4 of them uninsured or relying on public assistance, the CARE Act for them is a matter of life or death. This media campaign will remind Americans that HIV/AIDS exists in everyone's neighborhood and that despite the success of the Ryan White program, not all Americans have access to lifesaving care and treatment."
"The Ryan White CARE Act has a proven track record of success in providing lifesaving drugs as well as a full range of medical care and support services. The CARE Act is keeping people alive much longer than ever before. It has had strong bipartisan support from Congressional leaders over the years. We expect the same this year -- swift passage of reauthorization legislation this fall."
Resources at The Body:
FACTS AT A GLANCE
The Need
- HIV/AIDS remains a leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 16 and 54.
- About 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV or AIDS.
- Another 40,000 people become infected with HIV each year.
- The CDC estimates there are 211,000 people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. who are not receiving
drug treatment, but should be.
- While the number of AIDS deaths has declined (3 percent decrease from 1999 through 2003),
the number of AIDS diagnoses has increased (an estimated 4 percent during the same period).
- Because of funding variations, the care and treatment provided for HIV/AIDS patients varies
widely from state to state.
- Nine states currently have waiting lists for people in need of drugs.
- Some communities report up to a six-month waiting period for a primary care visit. In other
states, including Mississippi and Tennessee, people with AIDS are losing their health care
coverage including drug coverage due to state Medicaid cutbacks.
- Newly infected people are increasingly likely to be poor, to be members of a minority
community and to have inadequate access to healthcare.
- While the vast majority of AIDS cases are still in urban areas, more and more people in rural areas, like in the South, are being infected.
The Program
- The Ryan White CARE Act programs work with states, cities, clinics, hospitals and local
community-based organizations to provide care and treatment to low-income, uninsured or
underinsured people with HIV/AIDS and their families.
- CARE Act programs are the "payer of last resort." They fill gaps in care not covered by
other resources.
- By helping to fund the distribution of expensive, lifesaving medications, the Ryan White CARE
Act has been an integral part of an effort that has decreased AIDS deaths in the United States
from a peak of about 50,000 in 1995 to only about 18,000 in 2003.
- CARE Act services increase access to care for underserved populations, improve the quality
of life for those affected by the epidemic and by providing earlier access to care and treatment, reduces the use of more costly health care services such as in-patient care.
- The Act was named in memory of Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS at
age 13 from a blood transfusion and died in 1990, and who became a leading public
spokesperson on the needs of people with AIDS.
- The Ryan White CARE Act was originally approved in 1990 and has been renewed twice since then, in 1996 and 2000 -- each time with wide bipartisan support.
What Services Are Provided?
- Ambulatory health care
- Home-based health care
- Insurance coverage
- Medications
- Support services
- Outreach, testing and referral to identify HIV-positive individuals who know their HIV status
- Dental care
- Technical assistance and education for providers
- Demonstration projects
Who Benefits?
- CARE Act programs reach more than 500,000 individuals each year.
- In 2004, the CARE Act assisted about 136,000 people through its AIDS Drug Assistance
Programs (ADAPs).
- About half of the people who receive CARE Act benefits are African-American, while about
20 percent are Hispanic.
- Women account for nearly one-third of the people receiving services funded by the
Ryan White CARE Act.
- Eighty percent of the people receiving assistance from ADAPs have annual incomes less than
around $19,500 (around 200 percent of the federal poverty level), and 51 percent have
incomes less than approximately $9,700.
- A majority of people served by the CARE Act are uninsured, with only small percentages reporting some other source of coverage (15% private; 9% Medicare; 7% Medicaid and less than 1% with both Medicare and Medicaid).
