Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency (CARE) Act

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is the largest U.S. federal program built specifically for people living with HIV. Congress first passed it in 1990 and named it for Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who was barred from school after contracting HIV through a blood treatment and became a national voice against stigma. Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the program funds primary medical care, medications, mental health services, and case management through grants to states, cities, counties, and community clinics. It is the nation's HIV safety net, reaches more than half of everyone diagnosed with HIV in the country, and has been reauthorized several times since 1990.