Revising Ryan White Funding Formulas

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed proposed legislation that would reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act, focusing on: (1) whether this legislation adopted recommendations GAO made to improve equity; and (2) the effect of this legislation on funding per acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) case among states. GAO found that: (1) in fiscal year (FY) 1995, the Ryan White CARE Act provided $554 million to cities and states for medical and support services to human immunodeficiency virus patients; (2) although S. 641 and H.R. 1872 improve equity, the Senate proposal would almost eliminate double counting of AIDS cases, adopt better indicators of AIDS caseloads, and not include a factor to reflect cost differences among cities and states; (3) H.R. 1872 would slightly reduce double counting of AIDS cases, adopt better indicators of AIDS cases, and include a factor to reflect cost differences among cities but not states; (4) S. 641 would reduce the funding difference between states with the highest and lowest funding per AIDS case by about 50 percent; and (5) H.R. 1872 would reduce the funding difference between states with the highest and lowest funding per AIDS case by about 75 percent.