Ryan White CARE Act Gets a Makeover

The Ryan White CARE Act was renamed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 on December 19, 2006.

The CARE Act was never a static program. First passed in 1990, it was reauthorized in 1996 and again in 2000. Modifications by Congress have reflected changes in the epidemic and in spending priorities, among other factors. The 2006 bill was no different and brought important changes—none more so than the continued repositioning of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program as a health care rather than a social services program.

Among the legislation’s most far-reaching changes are the following:

• Grantees under Parts A, B, and C must use at least 75 percent of funds to provide core medical services.
• A new method of determining funding eligibility under Part A (Title I) is added, as is a new funding category under Part A called Transitional Grant Areas (TGAs).
• Metropolitan areas with a cumulative total of more than 2,000 cases of AIDS during the most recent 5-year period and a population of 500,000 or more are eligible for funding as Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs). Twenty-two regions qualify as EMAs. Continued eligibility as an EMA is contingent on having 2,000 or more cases of AIDS during the most recent 5 years and a cumulative total of 3,000 or more living AIDS cases as of the most recent calendar year.
• Cities are considered a TGA if they have at least 1,000 but not more than 1,999 cumulative AIDS cases during the most recent 5 years and a population of 50,000 or more. Twenty-nine regions qualify as TGAs.