News Release
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 23, 2004
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Contact: HRSA Press Office
(301) 443-3376
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HRSA Report Finds Federal HIV/AIDS Programs Slow Spread of Disease,
Help People Live Longer, Healthier Lives
Federal efforts are slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS and helping people
with the disease live longer, according to a report released today during
the 2004 Ryan White CARE Act Grantee Conference in Washington D.C.
In its biennial progress report, The AIDS Epidemic and the Ryan White
CARE Act: Past Successes + Future Challenges, HHS’ Health Resources
and Services Administration found that “AIDS incidence and mortality
have fallen among underinsured people because CARE Act-funded providers
are very good at reaching populations historically underserved by the
larger health care system, such as racial and ethnic minorities, who constituted
about 65 percent of CARE Act clients in 2002.”
“We have learned much over the past 14 years about providing scientifically
sound, yet compassionate care for those living with HIV/AIDS,” said
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. “The findings of this report show
that this Department is making a tremendous difference for the hundreds
of thousands of Americans with HIV/AIDS.”
HRSA, through its HIV/AIDS Bureau, administers the Ryan White Comprehensive
AIDS Resources Emergency Act. It funds more than 2,700 providers across
the country who care for more than half a million Americans living with
HIV/AIDS who need care most—the poor, uninsured and underserved.
According to the report, “in 2002, at least one of every two CARE
Act clients lived below the federal poverty level; fewer than 1 in 10
had any private insurance; and only 29.7 percent were enrolled in Medicare.”
A key finding in the report is that “More than two-thirds of all
CARE Act funds were used for primary care and treatment in 2002. Almost
3 times more clients used primary care than the most often used support
service.”
“We don’t just care for the neediest people with HIV/AIDS in
our society, we provide them with some of the best treatments available
in America,” said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D. “While
we recognize significant challenges ahead, these funds and this care have
had dramatic results in decreasing perinatal transmission and deaths due
to AIDS.”
Other key findings include:
- Almost one-third of CARE Act clients are age 45 or older;
- Some 46 percent of CARE Act clients are African American and nearly
one-in-five (19.8 percent) clients are Hispanic;
- More than 31 percent of HIV-positive clients served by CARE Act-funded
programs were female; and
- Two percent of CARE Act clients were children age 12 or younger.
While the report identified significant successes by the Ryan White CARE
Act programs, it also identified some significant challenges, including:
- The capacity of providers working in underserved areas must be increased;
- Providers must adapt to an environment of few new resources, rising
costs, and growing HIV/AIDS prevalence;
- The CARE Act community must ensure access to medication at the lowest
possible price; and
- CARE Act providers must continue to prioritize funding of primary
care services.
Since fiscal year 2001, the Bush administration has spent more than $7.7
billion in CARE Act funding to help people with HIV/AIDS access life-sustaining
care and services each year. President Bush has requested nearly $2.1
billion in fiscal year 2005 for the CARE Act, an increase of more than
$270 million since 2001.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are
available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Last Revised: August 23, 2004
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