Minneapolis will receive a $2,570,000 grant to provide services and care for low-income individuals with HIV or AIDS from a federal organization.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that Minneapolis is one of 49 American cities to receive a share of $445 million distributed under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Care Act.
The city qualified under the act’s title I provision that distributes funds to metropolitan areas “hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”
The bulk of funds are distributed through a need-based formula. The remaining money is awarded through a competitive process.
Minneapolis first qualified for the funds in fiscal year 1996 when the federal government identified a 13-county region in Minnesota as an “eligible metropolitan area.”
As the region’s primary health care provider for individuals with HIV or AIDS, Hennepin County disburses the money for a variety of services.
In past years, money has been used to pay for primary care, insurance and in-home health care, among other services.
Minneapolis uses its money well, said Jennifer Thompson, senior planning analyst for the Hennepin County Community Health Department.
The city’s dollars go further because the existing insurance infrastructure supports AIDS patients, she said. Less federal money is spent on primary care, leaving more for assistance programs, she said.
— Melanie Evans