HRSA Announces Highest HIV Viral Suppression Rate in New Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Client-Level Data Report

Content From: Laura Cheever, MD, ScM, Associate Administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services•Published: December 11, 2019•3 min read

Topics

A new report released last week by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) shows that clients receiving Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program medical care were virally suppressed at a record level – 87.1 percent – in 2018. This means people with HIV who take medication daily as prescribed and reach and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner. Funded and led by HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Annual Client-Level Data Report, 2018, (PDF, 3.4 MB) is the fifth annual publication of national client-level data from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Services Report (RSR).

Chart showing 87.1% of clients reported to receive HIV medical care reached viral suppression in 2018.2010: 69.5%; 2012: 75.0%; 2014: 81.4%; 2016: 84.9%. — *Image credit: 2018 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program By the Numbers* (PDF, 452 KB)

The RSR is HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau’s primary source of annual, client-level data reported by more than 2,000 funded Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grant recipients and subrecipients across the United States. The publication provides an in-depth look at demographic and socioeconomic factors among program clients served, including age, race/ethnicity, transmission risk category, federal poverty level, health care coverage, and housing status. In addition, the report assesses the demographics of those receiving services and highlights the progress and disparities in HIV-related outcomes – particularly viral suppression.

The Administration’s “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America” initiative is focused on four key strategies that together can end the HIV epidemic in the United States: diagnose, treat, prevent, and respond. This annual publication highlights how HRSA’s RWHAP plays a key role in providing care and treatment to people with new HIV diagnoses, people with HIV who are re-engaged in care, and people with HIV who are in care but not virally suppressed, as well as continued care for the more than half a million people served by the RWHAP annually.

HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds grants to cities, counties, states, and local community-based organizations to provide a comprehensive system of HIV primary medical care, essential support services, and medications for low-income people with HIV. The report includes data reported to the RSR for all clients served by Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Parts A, B, C, and D during calendar years 2014 through 2018.

In 2018, approximately 534,000 individuals received at least one Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded service. This means that more than half of people with diagnosed HIV in the United States received services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program last year.

In addition, the report shows that 87.1 percent of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving HIV medical care were virally suppressed in 2018, which is an increase from 69.5 percent in 2010. This exceeds the national viral suppression average of 62.7 percent reported last week by CDC.

Finally, the 2018 report includes four new data tables to better meet the needs for data-informed decision making:

Retention in care and viral suppression in 2018, among MSM aged 13 years and older, by race/ethnicity and selected characteristics (Tables 12b and 12d)
Retention in care and viral suppression in 2018, by housing status and selected characteristics (Tables 18a/b).