Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
FY2025 Appropriations
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 averts a government shutdown on the October 1 start of Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025) and extends the funding deadline until after the November general elections, buying appropriators more time to reach a deal on the FY2025 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.
Administration Activities
CDC Observes National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
On September 27, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) observed National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NGMHAAD), a day to reaffirm our commitment to ending the disproportionate impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men in the United States. Although progress is being made to reduce overall rates of new HIV infections, substantial racial and ethnic disparities persist, especially for Black/African American gay and bisexual men and Hispanic/Latino gay and bisexual men. To address these disparities, CDC is launching PrEPared/PrEParado, a new social marketing initiative under CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign to increase PrEP uptake and maintenance among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino gay and bisexual men in the South. Click here to read more on what CDC is doing to observe NGMHAAD.
FDA Proposed Downclassifying HBV Diagnostic Assays
On September 25, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that would reclassify certain hepatitis B virus (HBV) diagnostic assays from class III to class II devices. Down classifying HBV diagnostic assays would allow test manufacturers to seek marketing clearance through the less burdensome premarket notification (510(k)) pathway rather than submitting a premarket approval application (PMA), the most stringent type of FDA medical device review. The down classification of HBV assays follows the down classification of HCV assays in November 2021. Comments are due by November 25, 2024.
HHS OIG Releases Report Highlighting Gaps in HIV Care for Medicaid Beneficiaries
On September 24, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report identifying barriers State Medicaid agencies and manage care plans face in providing care to their enrollees with HIV. HHS-OIG analyzed interviews from 17 State Medicaid agencies and manage care plans to explore the challenges they face and strategies they use to provide care for their enrollees with HIV, including the unmet health-related social needs and provider shortages that impact enrollees’ abilities to maintain their care and limit abilities to address resulting gaps in care, and how limited access to data and insufficient administrative staff impact States’ and Plans’ efforts to monitor enrollees’ care needs and take action to connect enrollees to care.
CDC Releases Results of 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
On September 25, the CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) released the results of the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YBRS). The YBRS is a biannual survey used to track the behaviors and experiences of US high school students that can contribute to significant health issues, including sexual behaviors and drug use. The 2023 YBRS was the first version to include a question asking students whether they identify as transgender, questioning, or cisgender.
CDC Expands Vaccination Recommendations for Mpox to Include Certain International Travelers
On September 23, CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update regarding the clade I mpox outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa. CDC now recommends that travelers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo or other countries with sustained spread of clade I mpox, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be made aware of activities associated with cases and should be vaccinated with two doses of JYNNEOS if they anticipate certain sexual exposures while traveling. CDC continues to call for active monitoring for mpox in the US.
Resources
HepVu: Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions
“Recently, HepVu updated its Treatment Restrictions maps and data in accordance with the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable's (NVHR) Treatment Restrictions data. There has been a lot of progress in removing treatment restrictions -- as of August 2024, all states have removed fibrosis treatment restrictions, meaning that patients no longer have to wait until Hepatitis C damages their liver to receive treatment.”
KFF Issue Brief: Opioid Deaths Fell in Mid-2023, But Progress Is Uneven and Future Trends are Uncertain
“Although provisional CDC data show a decline in opioid deaths in 2023, the death toll remains much higher than just a few years ago, keeping this issue in the spotlight. Both former President Trump and Vice President Harris have records related to addressing the opioid epidemic, but they also have proposed different approaches to ongoing and future efforts to address the issue.”
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.”
NHAHC Mini-Conference: Beyond the Regs
Date: Sunday, October 20 – Monday, October 21
Please join the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition (NHAHC) for a mini conference, Beyond the Regs, in Washington, D.C. prior to HUD’s HOPWA Institute. The workshop topics include braiding streams of funding for housing, prevention and housing models, and a closing housing advocacy panel featuring Rep. Jerry Nadler.
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
HPV vaccine study finds zero cases of cervical cancer among women vaccinated before age 14
“A historic new study out of Scotland shows the real-world impact of vaccines against the human papillomavirus: The country has detected no cases of cervical cancer in women born between 1988-1996 who were fully vaccinated against HPV between the ages of 12 and 13. Many previous studies have shown that HPV vaccines are extremely effective in preventing cervical cancer. But the study, published on Monday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is the first to monitor a national cohort of women over such a long time period and find no occurrence of cervical cancer.”
Report: New HIV cases in SF dropped 59% over last 10 years
“HIV diagnoses in San Francisco fell at a far higher rate over the last 10 years than was the case nationally, according to public-health officials. Advocates and activists, meanwhile, say they worry cases could be underreported. The City’s disease determinations dropped 59% from 2014 to 2023, compared to 3% nationally during the same period, the San Francisco Department of Public Health said Monday. Officials published the HIV Epidemiology Annual Report that same day, which showed new diagnoses fell 20% from 2022 (162 diagnoses) to 2023 (133).”
‘Uncommon’ but not ‘unimportant’: Screen all patients with hepatitis B for HDV
“Despite being the smallest virus capable of causing human disease, it is estimated that up to 80% of patients with hepatitis delta virus will progress to liver cirrhosis and more than 50% will die of liver disease within 10 years of diagnosis… Despite the downstream effects of HDV, surveillance efforts are largely hindered by a lack of awareness and inconsistent and inaccurate rates of infection”
US will let more people take methadone at home
“The first big update to U.S. methadone regulations in 20 years is poised to expand access to the life-saving drug starting next month, but experts say the addiction treatment changes could fall flat if state governments and methadone clinics fail to act…With evidence mounting, the U.S. government made the changes permanent early this year. Oct. 2 is the date when clinics must comply with the new rules — unless they're in a state with more restrictive regulations.”