The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, joined a number of other organizations including HIV/AIDS medical providers, social service organizations, municipalities and local representatives as well as community churches in praising the introduction of the “Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act” (HR 4260), a bill to make needed improvement to the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act (RWCA)program to ensure that funding allocations are evidenced based, and that funding targets interventions that get people in to care and help them stay there. The new bill, introduced in Congress late Friday, is authored and sponsored by Renee Ellmers, (R, NC, 2nd District) and co-sponsored by Eddie Bernice-Johnson (D, TX, 30th District) and Bennie Thompson, (D, MS, 2nd District).
The Act ensures services that directly address the HIV continuum of care are prioritized
- Linkage, retention, and treatment adherence services are clearly defined as “Core Medical Services”.
- Incentives grantees to prioritize the provision of continuum services in their community.
- Ensures that care is coordinated and led by experienced providers.
The Act helps ensure that areas where the epidemic is growing will have the necessary resources to eliminate gaps in the continuum of care
- HRSA is required to examine the level of funding equity between states and eligible areas receiving Ryan White funding, and submit a plan to Congress to ensure that funding does not vary more than 5 percent per person with HIV among each state and area.
The Act supports better treatment adherence and health outcomes by promoting patient-centered care and choice
- Establishes a Special Project of National Significance (SPNS) that will develop a model of patient-centered care. As part of this effort, grantees will assess the extent to which patient centered care is incorporated into in their area, and HRSA will examine how to incorporate patient-centered care throughout the Ryan White program.
- Requires states to implement an ADAP pharmacy network that includes specialty pharmacies that focus on the HIV population. In addition, it protects privacy and supports better adherence by enabling patients to choose whether or not they want to use mail-order pharmacy services.
Source: Fort Mills Times
