Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
FY2025 Appropriations
On December 21, 2024, Congress advanced a continuing resolution to temporarily extend Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024) funding levels through March 14, 2025. The midnight, bipartisan stopgap funding measure averted a government shutdown and pushed the deadline to finalize the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) spending package to the first months of the 119th Congress and Trump-Vance Administration. Republicans are now deliberating how to tackle a growing list of big-ticket legislation, including the FY2025 and FY2026 spending packages, an upcoming debt limit deadline, and advancing President-elect Trump’s policy priorities.
NASTAD will continue to monitor the congressional appropriations process and advocate for the highest possible funding for HIV, hepatitis, and drug user health programs.
Administration Activities
HRSA HAB Issues RWHAP 2030 Program Letter
On December 20, 2024, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) released the Ryan White Program 2030 (RWP 2030) program letter. RWP 2030 details the framework that HRSA HAB will leverage to sustain high-quality care and treatment for people currently receiving services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) while expanding efforts to identify and engage individuals with HIV who are undiagnosed or out-of-care. Over the next few months, HRSA HAB will develop additional guidance and tools to support its efforts to establish and strengthen partnerships, prioritize community engagement, and utilize focused interventions to end the HIV epidemic.
Biden Administration Withdraws Proposed Preventive Care Rule
On January 13, 2025, the Biden Administration withdrew a proposed rule that would strengthen consumer protections and access to recommended preventive services. On December 20, 2024, NASTAD and the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP) submitted comments on the proposed rule, calling on the Administration to codify prior guidance on reasonable medical management techniques for recommended preventive services in order to limit insurer practices that leverage medical management strategies to create barriers to access for preventive services. Additionally, the coalition urged the Administration to expand coverage of over-the-counter preventive services without cost-sharing or prescription requirements, including those associated with PrEP.
Resources
GU O’Neill Institute: HIV and HCV Prevention in Opioid Response Initiatives
“While the attention of policymakers and the public is primarily focused on preventing deaths due to overdose, a critical and sometimes overlooked component of the opioid crisis is the potential spread of HIV, Hepatitis C (HCV), and other infectious diseases that accompany substance use.”
“This guidance from an expert panel of the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America updates the previous 2020 HIV Primary Care Guidance.”
Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance: Fact Sheets
- Sexual Health and Hepatitis C: Testing, Care and Treatment
- HPV and Anal Cancer Screening Guidelines, Treatment and Care
- Everything you need to know about PrEP
- New updates DoxyPEP: The do’s and don’ts of doxycycline use
United We Rise: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD)
“National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is approaching on February 7th, and United We Rise hosts a virtual campaign each year. This campaign invites and encourages organizations to submit information about their events. If you are hosting or participating in an NBHAAD event, we encourage you to submit your event details!”
AIDSWatch 2025 Update: New Dates Announced
Updated Date: March 31 – April 2, 2025
“Over the past few days, Congress released its schedule for 2025 detailing when both the House and Senate would be in session. In an effort to ensure that AIDSWatch participants are able to meet with their elected representatives in Congress, the AIDSWatch planning partners have made the decision to shift the dates of AIDSWatch 2025 from Sunday, March 16 - Tuesday, March 18th, when Congress will not be in session, to Monday, March 31 - Wednesday, April 2nd, when Congress will be in session. We believe that this date change will allow AIDSWatch 2025 to be as impactful as possible and to maximize the ability of the HIV advocacy community to have their voices heard in the halls of Congress. If you have any questions about this date change and the ways in which it might impact your ability to participate in AIDSWatch 2025, please reach out to AIDSWatch@aidsunited.org and AIDS United staff will be happy to assist you.”
Job Postings
Director of the Ryan White Office of Support—Harris County, TX
The Director serves as the liaison between the County Judge and the Houston EMA Ryan White Planning Council (RWPC), providing support to the Council and direct supervision to its staff as they fulfill their legislatively mandated responsibilities within the Ryan White Part A Program. The Director also works closely with Harris County Public Health/Ryan White Grant Administration (the Grant Administrator), other elected and appointed officials, service providers, community leaders, Persons Living with HIV (PLWH), and others within the six-county service area. Apply by January 17, 2025.
Communicable Disease Epidemiologist – Cheyenne, Wyoming
This position will serve as the Communicable Disease AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Coordinator, Wyoming TB Controller, and Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) for the Communicable Disease (CD) Treatment Program. Assist in outbreak response to ensure the safety of Wyoming residents; by interviewing cases for exposure information, updating news outlets on the progress of outbreak control, analyzing exposure data utilizing epidemiological and statistical methods.
News Bulletin
“The Supreme Court said Friday it will review the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s no-cost coverage mandates for certain preventive care services, putting the landmark health care law in front of the justices again just as President-elect Donald Trump – who tried to repeal the law during his first presidency – returns to the White House. While not an existential threat to Obamacare, the case could imperil access Americans have to cost-free preventive treatments and services, including HIV prevention medications, heart statins and various screenings for cancers and other diseases. The cost of some of these preventive services can be substantial, which would deter some people – particularly those with lower incomes – from accessing the care and slow the early detection of potentially deadly illnesses.”
DoxyPEP Rollout Tied to Dent in STI Epidemic in the Real World
“A decrease in California's sexually transmitted infections (STIs) followed early real-world adoption of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP), suggesting real population-level benefits to this public health strategy. Marking a first for an American health jurisdiction, San Francisco health officials had put doxyPEP into practice in October 2022 with a citywide guideline endorsing doxycycline 200 mg within 72 hours after condomless sex for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women with a history of an STI or multiple sex partners in the past year.”
“While the ruling only applies to the respondents in question, the Supreme Court announced last week that they will review part of the case that challenges the structure of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services that issues recommendations for preventive medical services. SCOTUS will determine whether the government, via the ACA, has the right to mandate 100% insurance coverage of recommended services like PrEP, along with a variety of other preventive services like cancer screenings and heart statins, at no cost to patients.”
Louisiana forbids public health workers from promoting COVID, flu and mpox shots
“A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and community events.Instead, they were told by an assistant secretary in the department and another official that department leadership had a new policy: Advertising or otherwise promoting the COVID, influenza or mpox vaccines, an established practice there — and at most other public health entities in the U.S. — must stop.”