In a significant policy shift at the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has moved decisively to ensure federal HIV/AIDS funds serve their intended purpose. The matter before us tonight concerns the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a vital lifeline for thousands of Americans living with this devastating disease.
Under the previous administration, these federal funds had been permitted for use in what’s termed “gender-affirming care,” including surgeries, hormones, and puberty-blocking medications. Tonight, that practice comes to an end.
HRSA Administrator Tom Engels spoke with characteristic clarity on the matter: “The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is a lifeline for thousands of Americans living with HIV, and HRSA will not allow funds to be diverted from their true purpose. Every dollar of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program must support HIV/AIDS-related treatment — not sex trait modification medications unrelated to HIV care.”
As of Friday, the Health Resources and Services Administration will post what’s known as a “Notice of Funding Opportunity.” This document explicitly states that AIDS Drug Assistance Program Emergency Relief Funds must be used solely for HIV/AIDS treatments. Now, ladies and gentlemen, there is an important distinction to be made here: hormonal medications deemed medically necessary for HIV/AIDS care will still be covered. However, these same medications, when prescribed for what officials term “sex-trait modification purposes,” will not.
The investigation into this matter has revealed that several jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia Department of Health, had been utilizing these funds to cover transgender hormone treatments, even in cases where such treatments bore no medical necessity for HIV treatment. The practice raised serious questions about the appropriate use of drug rebate funds.
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In New Jersey, we found the Department of Medicine at Rutgers University had aligned its practices with the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, offering gender-affirming hormone therapy as part of what they described as “a holistic approach to wellness and preventative medicine.”
The new HHS guidance leaves no room for misinterpretation. It clearly states that therapeutics funded under the ADAP may only be provided “to treat HIV/AIDS or prevent the serious deterioration of health arising from HIV/AIDS in eligible individuals, including measures for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections.”
This represents a fundamental return to the original mission of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, ensuring that every federal dollar serves its intended purpose: helping Americans affected by HIV/AIDS receive the treatment they desperately need.
