President Obama Signs the Ryan White Act of 2009

President Obama yesterday signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. According to the White House, "It represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring access to needed HIV/AIDS care and treatment."

The Ryan White Program is the largest federal program specifically dedicated to providing HIV care and treatment. It funds heavily impacted metropolitan areas, states, and local community-based organizations to provide life-saving medical care, medications, and support services to more than half a million people each year: the uninsured and underinsured, racial and ethnic minorities, people of all ages.

Jeanne White-Ginder, Ryan White’s mother, was present at the bill signing.

The President also announced the elimination of the HIV entry ban. (Since 1987, HIV-positive travelers and immigrants have been banned from entering or traveling through the United States without a special waiver).