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Newsletter: Policy

Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities

Julio Contreras

Hill Happenings 

Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations  

Lawmakers are closing in on an agreement for a finalized Fiscal Year 2022 (FY2022) appropriations omnibus bill ahead of the March 11 federal funding deadline. On February 17, the Senate passed the House-approved continuing resolution (CR) (H.R. 6617), averting a government shutdown and buying appropriators more time to build upon their FY2022 bipartisan topline appropriations agreement and finalize the spending package. Appropriators are intent on passing a FY2022 appropriations omnibus bill by the March deadline and are working to resolve the final spending disagreements regarding supplemental COVID funding and financial aid to Ukraine. 

NASTAD will continue to monitor the FY2022 appropriations process to advocate for the highest funding levels on behalf of HIV and hepatitis programs. 

Administration Activities 

President Biden Delivers Health Message During State of the Union Address 

On March 1, President Biden delivered the State of the Union Address before Congress, detailing the major issues facing the nation and his Administration’s plans to address them. During the address, President Biden highlighted the key healthcare priorities for his second year in office, including lowering the price of prescription drugs and leveraging community-based harm reduction to address the substance use and overdose crisis. In particular, President Biden called on Congress to empower the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate the price of prescription drugs for the Medicare program. Democrats are renewing efforts to pass legislation authorizing drug price negotiation after the Build Back Better Act, the legislative vehicle used to advance the drug price negotiation provision, did not receive enough support in 2021 to become law.

Notably, President Biden made history by becoming the first president to publicly endorse a harm reduction approach to ending the overdose epidemic. President Biden called on Congress to increase funding for harm reduction programs and endorsed removing burdensome restrictions that prohibit many providers from prescribing medication for opioid use disorder. After the Address, the White House released a fact sheet reiterating the Biden Administration’s commitment to support syringe service programs through funding opportunities to boost harm reduction providers’ capacity to provide fentanyl test strips, sterile syringes, and naloxone. Additionally, the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) issued a statement in support of the strategy.

Resources 

CDC NOFO: Strengthening Syringe Services Programs 

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aims to increase access to harm reduction services for people who currently inject, or have a history of injecting, drugs and reduce the incidence of infectious diseases and other complications of injection drug use through two components. Two Pre-Application Technical Assistance webinars will take place on March 16, 2022, and March 30, 2022, from 3-5 pm EST to provide potential applicants the opportunity to hear an overview of this NOFO and to ask CDC representatives specific questions related to it. 

CDC NOFO: Enhanced Surveillance of Persons with Early and Late HIV Diagnosis 

This NOFO will support identification and recruitment of adults with recent HIV diagnoses at stage 0 and stage 3 to improve understanding of barriers and gaps associated with new infection and late diagnosis in the era of multiple testing modalities and prevention options such as PrEP. These enhanced surveillance activities will identify actionable missed opportunities for early diagnosis and prevention, thus informing allocation of resources, development, and prioritization of interventions, and evidence-based local and national decisions to improve HIV testing and address prevention gaps. Applications close April 26. 

CDC Article in Clinical Infectious Diseases: Characteristics of persons treated for hepatitis C using national pharmacy claims data, United States, 2014–2020 

“Using national pharmacy claims data, during 2014–2020, 843,329 persons were treated for hepatitis C at least once. The proportion treated increased annually among persons aged <40 years, insured by Medicaid, and treated by primary care providers. Monitoring hepatitis C treatment is essential to identify barriers to treatment access.” 

Hepatitis Appropriations Partnership (HAP) Policy and Advocacy Summit 

Please join HAP for the first session in the 2022 Viral Hepatitis Policy & Advocacy Summit on Thursday, March 17th at 3pm ET! Across the U.S., people living with viral hepatitis face challenges to the care they need due to social and systemic barriers. This session will feature a discussion around the intersections of stigma, racism, and access to viral hepatitis services from a community and federal perspective. Please find panelists listed in the registration link here. 

AAHIVM Academy Council for Racial Equity: Minority Student Open 

Date: March 30 from 2:00 – 4:30 pm ET 

The American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM) Academy Council for Racial Equity is hosting a virtual conference for health-related students and trainees who are people of color and members of minority communities. This free event features a plenary speaker, an interdisciplinary panel discussion, and breakout sessions that will inspire and inform minority students and trainees to consider a health professions career in HIV care, policy or research. The event is virtual, free and open to all.

Job Postings 

STD/HIV/Hepatitis Program, Louisiana Health Hub 

HIV/STD Program Manager – Alaska 

The Alaska Division of Public Health seeks an HIV/STD Program Manager (Nurse Consultant 2). The position serves as HIV/STD Program Manager and is responsible to develop, manage, and coordinate multiple statewide programs to detect and control HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The incumbent oversees and stimulates necessary policy and program development; seeks and manages federal or other appropriate funding, oversees State grants and contracts for HIV and STD-related services; provides consultation/expertise to medical providers on HIV/STD treatment and care issues. The HIV/STD Program Manager recruits, trains, and supervise program staff. Applications close March 11 at 5:00 PM AKT.

Senior Public Health Investigator – Houston, TX 

The Houston Health Department seeks 12 Senior Public Health Investigators in the Bureau of HIV/STD and Viral Hepatitis Prevention to serve as Disease Intervention Specialists, Service Linkage Workers, and Patient Navigators. These full-time positions will report to various units including HIV Field Services, STI Field Services, Congenital Syphilis Field Services, Service Linkage Field Services, and PrEP Services. Applications close March 8. 

Department of State Health Services – Austin, TX 

  • Research Specialist V 
    • Under the supervision of the Group Manager, the MMP Project Coordinator/Research Specialist V performs advanced research and epidemiological work requiring specialized knowledge of health behaviors related to TB/HIV/STD transmission. Responsible for the coordination of activities involved in the implementation of the Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) in Texas. Coordinates activities related to sampling frame development, healthcare facility, provider, and patient recruitment and data collection. Prepares budget and grant documents, data collection protocols and procedures, annual, interim progress reports, and other reports required by CDC or DSHS.  
  • Program Specialist IV 
    • Under the direction and supervision of the TB/HIV/STD Surveillance Group manager and Electronic Lab Reporting (ELR) Epidemiology Team Lead, conducts activities related to data management and processing of HIV and STD laboratory reports. This position will provide technical expertise in the interpretation of laboratory data, and will be responsible for monitoring data quality of incoming laboratory reports. This position, along with the ELR Epidemiology Team Lead, will work directly with laboratories to resolve any reporting issues and improve data quality. This position will assist in the design and implementation of new and/or revised methods for receipt and dissemination of electronic data to more effectively meet HIV/STD surveillance needs.   
  • Public Health & Prevention Specialist II 
    • Public Health and Prevent Specialist II performs a variety of tasks under the direction of the STD/HCV Epidemiology and Surveillance Group Manager related to the management of HIV/STD investigational data, including database maintenance, report tracking, data entry, and quality assurance. This position will aid in development of short-term, mid-term and long-term goals and objectives, and the development of standards for achieving strategic operational goals. Exercises independent judgment and professional discretion with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment to administrate, advise, plan, and coordinate duties. 
  • HIV/STD Director 
    • The HIV/STD Director works under the general direction of the Director of the TB/HIV/STD Section (THSS) of the DSHS. Performs advanced (senior-level) managerial work leading the day-to-day operations of the HIV/STD Prevention and Care Unit. These programs include statewide programs for HIV clinical and social services; the provision of medications for the treatment of HIV and other STDs; and HIV/STD prevention.  

Wyoming Department of Health, Public Health Division, Communicable Disease Unit 

  • Communicable Disease Unit Surveillance Program Manager – Cheyenne, Wyoming 
    • The Wyoming Department of Health, Public Health Division, Communicable Disease Unit is seeking a Communicable Disease Surveillance Program Manager for Cheyenne. This position will serve as the Communicable Disease (CD) Surveillance Program Manager and senior epidemiologist for the Communicable Disease Unit. This position oversees public health surveillance of four disease areas (HIV, STD, TB, and Viral Hepatitis).  This position will monitor disease trends and utilize surveillance data to coordinate public health activities.   
  • 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. 

Hepatitis Surveillance Data Analyst – New Orleans, Louisiana 

This position is responsible for the data analysis activities for the Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV/Hepatitis Program (SHHP), in the Hepatitis Surveillance unit. Data utilized for Hepatitis Surveillance activities include Hepatitis laboratory data, Case Report Forms, Provider Report Forms, Linkage to Cure data, investigation data, Medicaid data, and data from related sources and programs. This position will implement and coordinate data analysis activities to monitor and evaluate progress toward meeting hepatitis elimination within the state. All activities must be completed in accordance with the security and confidentiality guidelines required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and SHHP. 

Assistant Commissioner - Health Department – Baltimore, Maryland 

The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) is seeking an Assistant Commissioner to lead the Bureau of Communicable Disease and Outbreak Control. This senior management position will lead a talented team responsible for communicable disease investigation, outbreak control, and emergency preparedness programming. The incumbent will also be responsible for developing and implementing agency-wide policies related to health department readiness to respond to public health emergencies. The incumbent will report directly to the Deputy Commissioner for BCHD’s Division of Population Health & Disease Prevention.    

Open Positions – New York State 

The New York State Department of Health, in partnership with Health Research, Inc, has various job openings, including some within the AIDS Institute. Please visit this link to learn about their current opportunities.  

News Bulletin 

HIV Preventive Care Is Supposed to Be Free in the US. So, Why Are Some Patients Still Paying? 

“A national panel of health experts concluded in June 2019 that HIV prevention drugs, shown to lower the risk of infection from sex by more than 90%, are a critical weapon in quelling the AIDS epidemic. Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the decision to rate PrEP as an effective preventive service triggered rules requiring health insurers to cover the costs. Insurers were given until January 2021 to adhere to the ruling. Faced with pushback from the insurance industry, the Department of Labor clarified the rules in July 2021: Medical care associated with a PrEP prescription, including doctor appointments and lab tests, should be covered at no cost to patients. More than half a year later, that federal prod hasn’t done the trick.” 

States Must Act Against Viral Hepatitis Now To Eliminate The Ongoing Epidemic By 2030 

“Without comprehensive plans to eliminate viral hepatitis, the US will fall short of reaching the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) goal of fully eliminating the virus by 2030. We call on policy makers at the state level to advance comprehensive, equity-focused proposals that will adequately address and meet the WHO’s goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030.” 

Manchin proposes dramatically scaled down version of Build Back Better  

“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who torpedoed President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda at the end of last year, on Wednesday laid out a dramatically scaled down version that he says he could vote for under the special budget reconciliation process.   

Manchin said he could support a reconciliation package that reforms the tax code and lowers the cost of prescription drugs if the money raised is split between spending on new climate change proposals and deficit reduction and fighting inflation.” 

Senate Republicans oppose Biden's $22.5 billion COVID-19 relief request  

“Senior Senate Republicans, including the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, say they do not support the Biden administration’s request for another $22.5 billion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the Appropriations panel, on Thursday said he doesn’t support doling out another $22.5 billion for COVID-19 relief when billions of dollars in federal aid remain unspent.”

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