Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
2024 General Election
On November 6, former President Donald Trump (R) was declared the winner of the 2024 Presidential election. Additionally, Republicans reclaimed the majority in the Senate and maintained control in the House of Representatives, establishing a Congressional and Executive trifecta for the 119th Congress. With control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, Republicans will try to leverage their majority to advance GOP health policy priorities, including paring down coverage through Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), limiting protections for sexual orientation and gender minorities, and cutting federal health spending.
FY2025 Appropriations
Congress returns from recess on November 12, resuming efforts to advance must-pass legislation during the lame duck session, including the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) spending bills. On September 25, lawmakers passed a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) (H.R.9747) that temporarily extends FY2024 funding levels through December 20 to buy appropriators more time to reach an agreement on the FY2025 package. In September, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK-04) called on Republicans to advance the FY2025 spending bills before the new year, but Republicans may now try to pass another CR that extends past the start of the 119th Congress in January 2025 to leverage their new Congressional majority and advance a partisan FY2025 spending package. 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
FDA Warns Public Health Programs that DBS Self-Collection Kits for HIV have not Been Authorized for Marketing and Use
On October 29, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a notice advising public health programs administering HIV testing that HIV blood sample self-collection kits are being marketed in the United States without the required FDA marketing authorization. Currently, FDA has not authorized any self-collection kits to collect blood samples, including dried blood spot self-collection cards, for HIV testing. This notice greatly impacts telePrEP programs utilizing DBS technology for HIV screenings as part of PrEP initiation and continuation labs. Starting on Friday, November 1, 2024, the TakeMeHome program will remove HIV DBS testing from their testing options in accordance with the FDA warning letter. Other telePrEP programs utilizing this testing technology may be following suit in compliance with the FDA notice. Currently, OraQuick In-Home HIV Test is the only HIV self-test with FDA authorization. TelePrEP programs have developed successful models that don’t depend on DBS self-collection kits through partnerships with commercial and public health laboratories. NASTAD will continue to provide updates as more develops and continue to share best practices related to the tests recommended for PrEP care.
HHS Finalizes Regulation that will Expand HBV Vaccine Access through Medicare
On November 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that will expand access to hepatitis B (HBV) preventive vaccines through Medicare Part B. Starting January 1, 2025, a physician’s order will no longer be required to administer an HBV vaccine under Medicare Part B, which will facilitate increased utilization of HBV vaccines through the mass immunizer program. Additionally, CMS expanded its coverage eligibility to include anyone who has not completed an HBV vaccination series and increased the affordability of vaccine administration at Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Together, these reforms will contribute to HBV prevention and viral elimination by removing barriers to vaccination in the Medicare program, increasing access points for vaccination, and facilitating greater consumer coverage and affordability for vaccinations.
IHS Awards $12.3 million to help fight HIV, HCV, and Syphilis
On October 29, the Indian Health Service (IHS) announced that it awarded $21.3 million to fight HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis in Native communities. The funding will be administered by 17 tribal and urban Indian organizations as part of the Ending the HIV/HCV/Syphilis Epidemics in Indian Country (ETHIC) initiative. The funding will support day-to-day delivery of services and equitable access to care to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities among Native populations.
HHS, White House Request Public Comment to Inform Development of New HIV, Hepatitis Strategic Plans
The Biden-Harris Administration is currently developing the 2026-2030 national strategic plans for HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs, and vaccines. HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) and White House Office of National HIV/AIDS Policy (ONAP) produce these quinquennial strategic plans to coordinate a whole-of-society response to the epidemics while setting epidemiological, programmatic, and policy goals that federal agencies and partners will work to achieve over the next five years. Through December 6, 2024, OIDP and ONAP are requesting public comment to inform the development of these plans. NASTAD is drafting a comment submission to uplift the priorities and policy recommendations that will facilitate the work of our members and bring the country closer to ending the epidemics. Please consider sharing any information and comments with us that you would like to see included in NASTAD’s submission via this Google Form by November 25.
Resources
HHS Strategic Plans Listening Sessions:
“The Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) at the Department of Health and Human Services is in the process of developing the 2026 – 2030 national strategic plans for HIV, sexually transmitted infections, vaccines, and viral hepatitis. Our office also collaborates with the White House Office of HIV/AIDS Policy to develop the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. We invite you to be part of this process as well as share this email with your networks. You can register for our November listening sessions at the links below.”
- November 13 | 2 PM: Listening Session
- November 14 | 2 PM: Spanish Listening Session
Webinar: Data Transformation for Storytelling
Date: Wednesday, November 13 from 2 pm – 3 pm ET
“Join the Integrating HIV Innovative Practices (IHIP) Team for the last session of our 3-session webinar series which covers the lifecycle of marketing and promoting an intervention, from intervention recruitment through dissemination of results. We are excited to share with you the latest methods and strategies to create and disseminate implementation tools and resources to support the uptake and replication of innovative HIV interventions like yours, by other organizations.”
Date: Tuesday, November 19th | 4:30-6pm EST
Drug Policy Alliance, AIDS United, National Harm Reduction Coalition, NASTAD, Black Harm Reduction Network, and Human Impact Partners will host a webinar exploring the root causes of racial and ethnic disparities in the overdose crisis and offer racially and culturally specific solutions. This event will offer a counterstory to the racial impacts of the overdose crisis and show why an accurate understanding of race and overdose is crucial to save lives.
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 December 9, 2024.
Supervisory Public Health Analyst: Policy Branch Chief – HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau
The HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) Division of Policy and Data (DPD) serves as the Bureau’s principal source of RWHAP program data collection and analysis, development of policy guidance, advancement of implementation science, and analyses of data for reports for dissemination, coordination of program and clinical performance activities, and technical assistance and training internally and externally. The Supervisory Public Health Analyst – Policy Branch Chief serves as the Branch Chief and expert advisor and resource to HAB in developing and formulating policies and regulations that are sensitive to the special needs and concerns of safety net providers and beneficiaries. Apply by November 15, 2024.
Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STI – Queens, New York
The NYC Health Department’s Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (BHHS) Policy and External Affairs Program seeks a Senior Policy Advisor to lead its health systems policy efforts and support its HIV, STI, and viral hepatitis policy advocacy more broadly. The Senior Policy Advisor will report to the Director of Policy and External Affairs and oversee BHHS’s health systems policy efforts, including monitoring, researching, and responding to Medicaid, Medicare, 340B program, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, New York State of Health Marketplace, New York City HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), patient assistance programs, and commercial health insurance activity relevant to New Yorkers affected by HIV, STIs, and viral hepatitis.
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.
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
Millions at risk of losing health insurance after Trump's victory
“Millions of Americans risk losing subsidies next year that help them pay for health insurance following President-elect Donald Trump’s election win and Republicans’ victory in the Senate. The subsidies — which expire at the end of 2025 — came out of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, and increased the amount of assistance available to people who want to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. The American Rescue Plan also broadened the number of people eligible for subsidies, extending them to many in the middle class. The looming expiration date means that the incoming Congress and next president will need to decide whether to extend them — something Trump and Republicans have already signaled they don’t support, said Chris Meekins, a health policy research analyst at the investment firm Raymond James.”
The Overdose Crisis Was Ignored in This Election Cycle
“The overdose crisis claims over 100,000 lives each year in the United States, but has received very little attention from leading candidates Kamala Harris (D) and Donald Trump (R) during the presidential election campaign. Whatever the outcome after November 5, the winner will face a continuing public health emergency. Proven lifesaving strategies are available. But to different degrees, the candidates’ sparse words on the topic have focused on continuing the drug war that led us here.”
35 Health Advocacy Groups Urge the Supreme Court to Protect Preventive Care
“35 organizations, representing millions of patients with serious health conditions and thousands of health care professionals, filed an amicus curiae, or “friend-of-the-court,” brief in the case of Braidwood v. Becerra at the U.S. Supreme Court. The amicus brief supports the government’s petition for certiorari in the case, providing extensive scientific data demonstrating that preventive services save lives and are cost-effective. At the crux of the case is a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires most insurers cover preventive services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) without cost-sharing by patients.”