Federal and state programs for HIV/AIDS have been chronically underfunded. This underfunding has real repercussions for the medical health and well-being of people infected with a potentially fatal disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that there are 56,000 new HIV infections per year in the United States. The need for care, treatment, and other services for people living with HIV grows annually, but federal funding of HIV programs historically grows at a much slower rate.
In recent years, these programs have even seen cuts to funding, as budgetary concerns for the country have grown. These cuts have real world consequences for public health, the health system, and patients. For example, most HIV providers report that the Medicare, Medicaid, and Ryan White programs do not currently reimburse medical care at actual cost.
Other important programs that rely on federal funding include research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), surveillance and disease prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ryan White Care Program and other medical workforce programs at the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), and many more.
The American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM) and its members support the adequate funding of federal programs for HIV/AIDS. We also work with our federal partners to advocate for those programs with Congress and the Administration.