IAPAC Joins AAHIVM and HIVMA in Lambda Legal Suit
Against Trump Administration on Gender-Affirming Care
Statement by Dr. José M. Zuniga
The International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) joined the AAHIVM et al. v HHS lawsuit because the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program has, for more than three decades, been a model of evidence-based, patient-centered, comprehensive care for people living with HIV. The recent federal restrictions targeting transgender individuals living with HIV undermine the very principles that have made the program one of the most successful public health interventions in U.S. history.
Transgender people are disproportionately affected by HIV and often face significant barriers to accessing healthcare, including stigma, discrimination, poverty, housing instability, and inadequate insurance coverage. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program was designed to address these realities through an integrated model of care that empowers clinicians to respond to the full spectrum of patient needs. Restricting access to medically necessary gender-affirming care and limiting providers’ ability to acknowledge and respect the identities of their patients is inconsistent with both sound clinical practice and the program’s intent.
IAPAC believes that healthcare decisions should be guided by the best available scientific evidence, clinical judgment, and the needs of individual patients – not by political ideology. Decades of experience have demonstrated that people living with HIV achieve better health outcomes when care is comprehensive, affirming, and tailored to their circumstances. Policies that create barriers to care threaten engagement in treatment, adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and viral suppression – the very outcomes the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program was established to achieve.
Our participation in this lawsuit reflects our longstanding commitment to health equity, human dignity, and the right of all people living with HIV to receive medically appropriate, evidence-based care without discrimination. We will continue to stand with our clinical partners, community advocates, and patients to defend the integrity of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and ensure that no person living with HIV is denied care because of their gender identity.
Click here to access a Lambda Legal press release about AAHIVM et al v HHS.
Dr. José M. Zuniga is President/CEO of IAPAC, Fast-Track Cities Institute, and Fast-Track Health.
