HIV/AIDs Groups Say Trump’s Grant Program Changes Discriminate

A trio of HIV/AIDs groups and two healthcare providers filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday alleging discrimination in the largest federal HIV/AIDs grant program.

The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that implementing program changes and funding opportunities posted this year by the US Health Resources and Services Administration under the Ryan White HIV/AIDs Program would restrict transgender people’s access to HIV care.

The Ryan White program funds several grants for medical and support services to expand access to HIV treatment. About half of the individuals served by the program identify as LGBTQ, as HIV/AIDs has historically disproportionately affected gay men and transgender women.

The American Academy of HIV Medicine, HIV Medicine Association, and the International Association of Providers of AIDs care, joined by Jennifer K. Brody, a Boston-based family physician, and Christopher B. Fox, a nurse practitioner, are seeking a preliminary injunction against HRSA from enforcing policy changes while litigation proceeds.

“At its core, this lawsuit is about whether the federal government may single out an already marginalized group for exclusion from the nation’s public health agenda,” the suit states.

The plaintiffs take issue with language in two types of documents: HRSA’s general terms and conditions for fiscal year 2026, which was issued in March, and multiple funding opportunity announcements for Part B, Part C, and Part F of the Ryan White Program that were issued on June 8. Both of these would limit the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender individuals citing executive action from President Donald Trump.

“If implemented, the Challenged Conditions would require HIV care providers to refuse to acknowledge, affirm, or respect the identities of their transgender patients and would forbid these providers from using Ryan White funding to provide transgender patients with gender-affirming hormone therapy—even though the Ryan White Statute explicitly contemplates such care as an outpatient service provided as part of a patient’s primary care,” the suit states.

The lawsuit alleges that these documents, as written, violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the First and Fifth amendments, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.

The lawsuit names the HRSA, HRSA Administrator Thomas J. Engels, the Department of Health and Human Services, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The case is American Academy of HIV Medicine v. Health Resources and Services Administration, D. Mass., 1:26-cv-12638, complaint filed 6/10/26