With uncertainty over the future of Ryan White HIV funding, here’s what we know
A memo sent out to Cleveland-based HIV providers calls into question the future of Ryan White HIV funding.
By Juan Michael Porter II | FEBRUARY 11, 2025
After more than 40 years of AIDS activism, Gil Kudrin had thought he’d seen it all – until he started receiving panicked phone calls over the past few weeks from HIV care providers throughout Cleveland, about a memo they’d received.
The memo said funding from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program would no longer be available to cover services after January 31, Kudrin told The Buckeye Flame.
The Buckeye Flame reached out for comment about the memo to David Margolius, M.D. ― director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health. In an email, Margolius explained that the Cuyahoga County Board of Health sent the memo, and commented, “If the checks and balances at the federal government are unable to stop the proposed cuts to Ryan White funding – that would be devastating for our community. And we will do everything in our power through our coalitions to take care of our residents.
The Buckeye Flame then reached out to Kevin Brennan, communications officer for the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, who responded: “We cannot speak directly to memos that may be circulating regarding the removal of funding for the Ryan White Care Act.” /p>
However, he clarified that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an executive order to freeze federal funds on Jan. 27, but rescinded it on Jan. 29. Brennan said he hadn’t heard of any interrupted funding in the county since then, but noted that his agency had placed a temporary hold “on grant projects that we service” out of “concern about the lack of clarity and direction” over OMB’s initial order.
When asked to confirm that Ryan White funding was not interrupted, Brennan wrote, “Since the services are federally funded and there is no freeze right now, the money is there to pay for what’s needed.” He added that, “it’s not expected that there would be any interruptions, given that they lift the hold on the 14th.”
About Ryan White and What to Do If Funding Is Interrupted
Since 1990, Ryan White funding has paid for medical and wraparound support services for people with HIV who might not be able to afford them otherwise. And though the program’s authorization expired in 2013, it has continued to operate under annual budgetary approval from Congress. The budget for 2025 has not been approved by Congress, and with Ryan White’s budgetary review and renewal coming up at the end of February, its future is uncertain.
Seeking advice on what agencies and individuals could do if Ryan White services are interrupted in the future, The Buckeye Flame reached out to numerous HIV service organizations in Cleveland. None were willing to comment for this article.
We then contacted Joseph Cherabie, M.D., M.Sc., the medical director of the St. Louis HIV/STI Prevention Training Center and the Washington University PrEP Clinic. Cherabie explained that had not heard of any Ryan White funding cuts in St. Louis or from his colleagues in Columbus, Ohio.
But if the program were interrupted, Cherabie said, he would direct people living with HIV to visit a clinic with access to 340B HIV funds or an organization that receives money from charities such as the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
340B is a discount rebate program on pharmaceutical drugs in which savings are returned to organizations to fund patient services. “Many of our case managers and wraparound services are funded by 340B HIV,” Cherabie explained. For providers who are concerned about using those funds, he said, “as long as that money is going back into patient care, and you can prove that it’s associated with patient care ― if there’s an audit and you’re reporting [fund use] ― then as long as 340B remains intact, it should be good to go.”
For now, Kudrin continues to marvel at the until-recently-unthinkable possibility Ryan White funding could be interrupted or that information about its future is unclear. “These are crazy times,” he wrote in a message, “We have a right to this information.”
The Buckeye Flame is an online platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans to support community and civic empowerment through the creation of engaging content that chronicles their triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences.
CONTACT
Ken Schneck, PhD
Editor
editor@thebuckeyeflame.com
The Buckeye Flame
Ohio’s LGBTQ+ Newsroom
Source: The Buckeye Flame
https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/02/11/uncertainty-over-the-future-of-ryan-white-hiv-funding/
"Reproduced with permission - The Buckeye Flame"
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