Characteristics of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Provider Network: Implications for Access to Care Under the Affordable Care Act

This study provides a baseline view of the HIV care system prior to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Prior to ACA implementation, approximately 30 percent of individuals who received Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) funded services were uninsured. For the remainder, RWHAP provided services not covered by their insurance (HRSA 2010). Even though RWHAP represented only 16 percent of federal funding for HIV/AIDS care (KFF 2013), it provided a critical source of supplemental funding that reached broadly across the HIV care system. In 2012, among the approximately 850,000 individuals diagnosed with HIV, more than 529,000 (over 62 percent) received RWHAP-funded medical or support services (HRSA 2012). Among physicians specializing in HIV care, 42 percent reported that their primary practice setting received RWHAP funding.