Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
FY2025 Appropriations
Congress is on recess until November 12, temporarily pausing efforts to advance the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) spending bills until after the November 5 general election. On September 25, lawmakers passed a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) (H.R.9747) that temporarily extends Fiscal Year 2024 funding levels through December 20. The stopgap funding measure averted a government shutdown on the October 1 start of FY2025 and buys appropriators more time to reach a deal on the spending package while avoiding the larger backdrop of the election. President Biden signed the CR on September 26.
NASTAD will continue to monitor the congressional appropriations process and advocate for the highest possible funding for HIV, hepatitis, and drug user health programs.
NASTAD Calls on Appropriators to Reject Spending Cuts and Fund HIV Programs in FY2025
On October 24, NASTAD and the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP) called on Congress to reject proposed cuts to domestic HIV programs and provide strong funding in FY2025. In July, the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee advanced a spending bill that would enact a $712 million cut to HIV programs if passed, including the elimination of all Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative funding. The coalition called on Congress to support higher funding levels proposed by the Senate for HIV programs across federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, the Minority Aids Initiative, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Administration Activities
CMS Issues Updated Coverage Guidance Requiring Insurers to Cover PrEP Without Cost-Sharing
On October 21, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor, and Department of Treasury issued updated marketplace and private insurance guidance regarding federal coverage requirements for PrEP. The FAQ document clarifies that all non-grandfathered insurers must comply with new coverage requirements for PrEP that were expanded to include all current formulations, including long-acting PrEP and daily oral PrEP. Implementation of the new coverage requirements will facilitate access to PrEP without consumer cost-sharing and prohibits insurers from using prior authorization requirements to steer patients towards a specific PrEP formulation.
Resources
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.”
HHS OIDP Webinar: Financing Integrated Viral Hepatitis Services: Recommendations for State and Federal Entities
Date: November 6, 2024, from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm EST
“The Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) invites you to participate in a webinar on November 6, 2024, from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm EST. This webinar will introduce, Financing Integrated Viral Hepatitis Services: Recommendations for State and Federal Entities, an upcoming report sharing recommendations for viral hepatitis financing models that can optimize service provision in clinical and non-clinical settings. These recommendations reflect over two years of research as well as robust discussions with community, state, and federal partners on payment and reimbursement strategies to support viral hepatitis service provision. The webinar will include presentations on innovative models featured in the report being implemented in several states.”
HHS OIDP Listening Sessions: National Strategic Plans
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 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. OIDP will host two upcoming listening sessions in October to continue gathering public input from a wide variety of individuals and organizations:
- October 29, 2024 | 2-3 pm ET – Syndemic focused listening session
- October 31, 2024 | 1-2:30 pm ET – Vaccine focused listening session
HHS: OIDP Travels to Cherokee Nation in Support of Hepatitis C, HIV, and Syphilis Elimination
“Recently, OIDP’s Dr. Jessica Deerin, PhD, Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor, and Darcy Cherlin, MPH, Public Health Analyst visited Cherokee NationExit Disclaimer in Tahlequah, Oklahoma to learn about the HELP program. In its first year, the program partnered with community programs, including the Cherokee Nation Harm Reduction Program, Peaceful Warrior’s Way, Muskogee Medication Assisted Treatment Clinic, and Tahlequah Men’s Shelter. During the visit, Dr. Deerin and Ms. Cherlin met with Dr. Jorge Mera, Director of Infectious Diseases for Cherokee Nation Health Services, and the HELP team to discuss the results of year one.”
TFAH Report: Pathway to a Healthier America: A Blueprint for Strengthening Public Health for the Next Administration and Congress
“Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) released a report that identifies six priority areas and includes policy recommendations that, if adopted, will improve health outcomes and bolster the nation’s economic and national security. The report draws a roadmap for policymakers to safeguard the nation's health security by ensuring sustained investment in public health, policy support, and protection from political interference. In addition, an event was held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The event featured highlights from the report as well as engaging conversations with expert speakers, including former HHS Secretaries Michael Leavitt and Kathleen Sebelius. A recording is available here.”
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.
HRSA HAB Webinar: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Integrating HIV Primary Care and Behavioral Health
Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 2:00-3:00 pm ET
“Join us for an exciting webinar featuring “A Trauma-Informed Approach to Integrating HIV Primary Care and Behavioral Health Care Services intervention,” designed to diagnose mental health issues among people with HIV and reduce stigma associated with accessing mental health care by integrating primary HIV care and behavioral health services to coordinate client diagnoses and treatment. CE credit is available for individuals who attend the live webinar. Click here to learn more about CE credits offered through the IHIP webinar series.”
Job Postings
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
Everyone’s tough on drugs again
“There’s a rare point of agreement among Republican and Democratic candidates this election year: America has a drug problem and it’s fentanyl traffickers’ fault. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are hammering Democrats over border policies they say have allowed fentanyl to surge into the country. Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, respond that they, too, have cracked down on traffickers and want stricter border enforcement…That view worries public health experts and treatment advocates, who see a backsliding toward the law enforcement focus that once looked futile in the face of Americans’ insatiable appetite for drugs. They fear it bodes ill for additional efforts from Washington to expand addiction care.”
Anxiety grows over telemedicine flexibility extension
“Lawmakers and physicians are growing anxious for COVID-era telemedicine flexibility measures to be extended for a third time, as federal regulators signal a potential tightening of the rules ahead of a deadline at the end of the year. Since 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have allowed physicians to prescribe schedule II to V controlled substances without in-person medical evaluations. The loosened rules have been credited with improving access to care, particularly for patients seeking mental health care and dealing with substance use disorders.”
Black Americans Still Suffer Worse Health. Here’s Why There’s So Little Progress
“Over a recent two-decade span, mounting research shows, the United States has made almost no progress in eliminating racial disparities in key health indicators, even as political and public health leaders vowed to do so. And that’s not an accident, according to academic researchers, doctors, politicians, community leaders, and dozens of other people KFF Health News interviewed. Federal, state, and local governments, they said, have put systems in place that maintain the status quo and leave the well-being of Black people at the mercy of powerful business and political interests.”