FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Dec. 18, 1998
Contact: HRSA Press Office (301) 443-3376

$479 MILLION AWARDED FOR HIV/AIDS CARE IN HIGH INCIDENCE AREAS

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today announced nearly $479 million in Ryan White CARE Act grants to fund primary health care and support services for low-income individuals and families in 50 eligible metropolitan areas (EMAs) hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These funds are in part targeted to 47 metropolitan areas with high numbers of affected African American and Hispanic populations under a special Clinton administration initiative with the Congressional Black Caucus to address the greater burden of HIV/AIDS on racial and ethnic minorities.

Under Title I of the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act, 50 EMAs are receiving formula grant awards based on the number of people in the EMA living with HIV disease.

"These grants place funds where they are needed most, so that hard-hit communities can provide people affected with HIV/AIDS the critical services they need," said Secretary Shalala. "Our initiative with the Congressional Black Caucus further helps us mobilize a long-term, comprehensive response to the severe and ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis in racial and ethnic minority communities, particularly among African Americans and Hispanics."

Title I grants provide essential HIV/AIDS health care and a wide range of support services to those who lack or are only partially protected by health insurance, including physician visits, case management, assistance in obtaining medications, home-based and hospice care, substance abuse and mental health services and other related services. To qualify for Title I funding, an EMA must have a population of at least 500,000 and have reported more than 2,000 AIDS cases in the most recent five calendar years.

"The demographic impact of HIV/AIDS is changing, as growing numbers of African Americans and Hispanics need HIV/AIDS primary care and support services," said Claude Earl Fox, M.D., M.P.H., administrator of HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees the CARE Act through its HIV/AIDS Bureau. "These funds allow us to broaden our overall effort to bring added resources to more than 1,300 HIV care providers in communities where the majority of their clients are African American and Hispanic."

Other HRSA-administered CARE Act programs fund HIV/AIDS services in states and eligible U.S. territories (Title II); provide support to public and gateway.html organizations for outpatient early intervention services and planning grants (Title III); fund special programs for improving access to care for women, youth, adolescents and families (Title IV); demonstrate and evaluate innovative models of care for historically underserved populations (Special Projects of National Significance Program); oversee a regional network for educating and training AIDS care providers (AIDS Education and Training Centers Program); and provide reimbursement for uncompensated costs in treating dental patients with HIV (HIV/AIDS Dental Reimbursement Program) . Title II also supports the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which helps support the cost of medications that prolong and improve the quality of life for uninsured individuals and others unable to pay.

Since FY 1991, the Clinton Administration has awarded close to $6.4 billion in CARE Act funds. It is estimated that more than 400,000 individuals affected by HIV/AIDS access CARE Act services each year.

Click here [www.hhs.gov/news/press/1998pres/title1li.html] for a list of the 50 EMAs and Title I grant awards, which include the CBC awards.

Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.hhs.gov.