Health and social policy

Executive Order 13649: Accelerating Improvements in HIV Prevention and Care in the United States Through the HIV Care Continuum Initiative

President: Barack Obama

Directed agencies to improve HIV diagnosis, linkage to treatment, retention in care and viral suppression through coordinated data and programs.

Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13649 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13649 remains unrevoked and includes annual reporting after its initial recommendations. Executive Order 13703 of July 30, 2015 incorporated the care-continuum working group’s recommendations into the updated HIV/AIDS strategy without revoking Executive Order 13649. Sources: Federal Register 2013 executive order disposition table, EO 13649; Signed Executive Order 13649; Executive Order 13703, July 30, 2015.

What does Executive Order 13649 do?

EO 13649 organized federal work around the HIV care continuum: diagnosis, connection to care, sustained treatment and viral suppression. It created an interagency working group, required recommendations and encouraged better use of data to identify gaps. Those initial deadlines are complete, but HIV.gov, CDC, HRSA and current national strategies still use the continuum to measure outcomes and target services.

Administration position: The order coordinated programs and data; it did not create an individual entitlement to care or alter eligibility rules for Medicare, Medicaid or the Ryan White program.
SignedJuly 15, 2013
LeadDirector of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Initial report deadline180 days

Before and after

Before the order

Federal HIV programs tracked separate stages of prevention and treatment without a single executive initiative focused on losses along the continuum.

After the order

Agencies adopted shared measures and strategies for linkage, retention and viral suppression.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Interagency working groupRecommend improvements and coordinate implementationInitial work completed
CDC and HRSAMeasure outcomes and support care systemsContinuing
Health departments and providersUse continuum data to identify service gapsContinuing

What happened next

EO 13649 launched the initiative.

Executive Order 13703 incorporated recommendations from the HIV Care Continuum Working Group into the updated national strategy without revoking Executive Order 13649. Official source.