On March 1, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on reauthorization of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. The Ryan White CARE Act was enacted in 1990 to provide treatment and care for people with HIV/AIDS and was last reauthorized in 2000.
Chair Michael Enzi (R-WY) remarked in his opening statement that “Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act to protect and support those battling HIV and AIDS so they could live normal lives without fear of discrimination, rejection, and abuse.” He emphasized that there is still significant work to be done to improve the Act, noting, “the disease affects more women, minorities, and people from rural areas than ever before, yet funding provisions limit services available to some Americans based on gender, race, or where they live.”
Calling the Ryan White CARE Act “enormously powerful, important, and valuable,” Ranking Member Edward Kennedy (D-MA) agreed, adding, “It is important to be thoughtful and deliberative as we revamp and reauthorize this legislation, so that we do not compromise the infrastructures that provide care and treatment to so many people living with HIV/AIDS.”
Dr. Elizabeth Duke, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services lauded the Ryan White CARE Act’s success in providing treatment and services for over half a million people annually. She explained that “in 2004, an estimated 65 percent of these individuals were racial minorities, 33 percent were women, and 87 percent were either uninsured or received public health benefits.” According to Dr. Duke, “The Ryan White CARE Act is organized into distinct program components. Title I provides emergency assistance to Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) that are most severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic…Title II provides grants to all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eligible U.S. territories for a wide range of care and support services…Title III, Early Intervention Services (EIS), supports comprehensive primary health care and certain services for individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV…[and] Title IV provides community-based, family-centered services to women, children, and youth living with HIV and their families, including: primary and specialty medical care, psychosocial services, logistical support, outreach and case management.” She added that “pregnant women have been provided with care that has allowed them to give birth to children free from HIV infection, and thousands have received support services that have allowed them to access and remain in health care.”
Speaking on behalf of the administration, Dr. Duke emphasized “five key principles for reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act: (1) serve the neediest first; (2) focus on life-saving and life-extending services; (3) increase prevention efforts; (4) increase accountability; and (5) increase flexibility.” The administration’s FY2007 budget request for the Ryan White CARE Act is $2.16 billion. Congress appropriated $2.06 billion for the program in FY2006.
During the question and answer portion of the hearing, Senators focused the discussion on inequities in the funding formulas for metropolitan and rural areas.
