Thursday, July 25, 2024
3:00-5:00 PM
By Zoom Videoconference
Members Present: D. Klotz (Governmental Co-chair), D. Martin (Community Co-chair), B. Fields (Finance Officer), R. Babakhanian, M. Baney, K. Banks, R. Brown, G. Bruckno, M. Caponi, P. Carr, L. Cyrus, V. Decamps, J. Edwards, M. Gilborn, R. Ford, L. Francis, S. Hemraj, E. Kaywin, W. LaRock, H. Martinez, M. Maia Soares, L. F. Molano, MD, B. Montes, J, Natt, C. Nuñez, J. Palmer, G. Plummer (ex-officio), L. Richberg, M. Rodriguez, L. Sabashvili, S. Safo, MD, J. Schoepp, M. Sedlacek, S. Stallings, A. Tomlin, T. Troia, G. Ty
Members Absent: M. Bacon, J. Dudley, R. Fortunato, J. Goldenbridge, R. Henderson, F. Laraque, N. Martin, J. Roman
Staff Present: DOHMH: C. Quinn, MD, M. Navejas, D. Saab, S. Spiegler, A. Eppinger-Meiering, A. Guzman, G. Roth, R. James, K. Mack, P. Padgen, H. K. Mok; Public Health Solutions: A. Shahi, G. Ashby-Barclay; Bannon Consulting: Chloe Siegman, Kristin Wunder
Agenda Item #1: Welcome/Introductions/Minutes/Announcements
Mr. Martin and Mr. Klotz opened the meeting followed by introductions, including new members and newly appointed committee chairs. A moment of silence was held in memory of Claire Simon. The minutes from the July 25, 2024 meeting were approved with no additional changes.
Mr. Klotz introduced new Planning Council Deputy Director Michael Navejas who started on October 15th. Mr. Navejas has worked for 20 years in the DOHMH HIV epidemiology and surveillance program.
Dr. Quinn welcomed the new and returning members, thanked them for their dedication and hard work over the upcoming year, and stressed what can be accomplished when government and the community work in partnership.
Agenda Item #2: Public Comment
Mr. Schoepp inquired about a Quality Management initiative regarding client advisory boards (CABs).
Mr. Fields suggested that the Council or Consumers Committee receive a briefing about the plans offered in the current Medicare open enrollment period.
Mr. Palmer noted that the Social Care Networks funded through the Medicaid 1115 waiver will begin soon and will have implications for Ryan White Part A and other programs that the Council should be aware of.
Agenda Item #3: Recipient Report
Ms. Eppinger-Meiering reported news from HRSA and other federal partners, including commemoration of National HIV & Aging Day, Gay Men’s and Hispanic/Latino HIV Awareness Days. HRSA released guidance on older adults and long-term survivors that described common health and social concerns and provides links to resources. HRSA also provided clarification on the process for submitting a waiver of the core services requirement. Finally, HRSA director Laura Cheever announced her retirement.
The Ryan White Part A (RWPA) GY 2025 grant application was submitted on September 25th. The grant application was a collaborative effort between Recipient staff, the Planning Council, Public Health Solutions (PHS), Bannon Consulting, and other intra- and external governmental agencies.
The Recipient has released a new series of service locator Google Maps. There are a total of four maps, all of which will serve to connect the community to the RWPA, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Undetectables, and Crystal Methamphetamine Harm Reduction Services programs that are available in NYC and Tri-County. There was a suggestion for QR codes to link to the maps.
Recipient and Planning Council staff participated in the National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care and Treatment that took place in August. Recipient staff presented on: 1) Addressing Unmet Housing Needs; 2) A Collaborative Approach to Address Payor of Last Resort in the New York EMA; 3) Building Equity Intervening Together: Intervention Strategies for Black and/or Latino/Hispanic People Aging with HIV; and 4) Using Evidence and Implementation Science Approaches to Plan, Conduct, and Evaluate Stigma-Reduction Interventions. Also, on September 18th, Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and STIs (BHHS), held “Thriving, Resilient, and Empowered: Healthy Aging with HIV”.
The NY EMA Quality Management Committee met on September 17th to introduce planned subrecipient quality management trainings and review feedback from trainings that took place over the spring and summer. The 2024 RWPA All-Provider Meeting took place on July 16th, where members of the NYC HIV Planning Council Consumers Committee led a session on the utilization of Community Advisory Boards to improve the quality of services. On September 10, 2024, the DOHMH HIV Care and Treatment Program (CTP) delivered a training with RWPA Harm Reduction subrecipients for the “Healthy Conversations”evidence-based health education intervention. Over 20 subrecipient providers attended.
On September 30th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a National Coverage Determination requiring Medicare to cover all forms of PrEP without patient cost-sharing. On September 6th, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State received a final commitment of $10 billion from the federal government to expand health insurance coverage for 1.5 million New Yorkers as part of its section 1332 State Innovation Waiver. On October 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Request for Information to gather recommendations to inform the development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the U.S.
Agenda Item #4: GY 2025 Grant Application Overview
Ms. Siegman presented details of the GY 2025 RWPA grant application, which was submitted to HRSA on September 25th. CTP led the process with support from Bannon Consulting Services. Contributions were made by the DOHMH HIV Prevention Program, BHHS Policy and External Affairs, HIV Epidemiology, STI and Viral Hepatitis Programs, PC staff plus NYSDOH AI and PHS. The application requested a total of $96.6M ($84M for services), the maximum 5% over the current year’s award. The components of the application were presented including alignment with the NYC EHE plan and organizational information. There is needs assessment data (epidemiological overview, unmet need, HIV care continuum showing that 70% of all diagnosed PWH are virally suppressed). The Early Identification of Individuals with HIV (EIIHA) section describes activities to accelerate NYC’s progress toward reaching the national EHE goal of a 90% reduction in new HIV infections by 2030 and getting all people with HIV into care. The EIIHA Strategy is divided into 4 components: 1) Identification of individuals unaware of their status (estimated 5% of PWH in NY EMA are undiagnosed); 2) Informing individuals who test positive of their HIV diagnosis; 3) Referral to care of newly diagnosed individuals; 4) Linkage to care of newly diagnosed individuals. The application also describes subpopulations of special focus (young MSM, transgender women and Black/Latina cisgender women).
The application details the EMA’s work plan to address unmet need and interventions for special populations. Challenges and resolutions of unmet need were addressed, as were evaluation and technical support capacity of the QM program.
Mr. Klotz described the application’s letter from the Council co-chairs, which documents the Council’s Comprehensive Needs Assessment, participation in the development of the NY Statewide Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan 2022-2026, Priority Setting & Resource Allocation (PSRA) process, participation of PWH in the RWPA planning process, ongoing membership trainings, and assessment of the administrative mechanism.
In response to a question, Ms. James explained that it may be possible to replicate the BeIntoHealth model with older populations, but given the limited funding, the focus was young men. Also, Mr. Babakhanian stressed the importance of addressing social isolation, unstable housing an other social factors that create barriers to care for young men. Ms. Siegman explained that the application limits the number of special populations to three and that transgender women make up 97% of all HIV infections among TGNB populations.
Agenda Item #5: 2024-25 Planning Council Agendas
Mr. Klotz reviewedthe 2024-25 rolling agenda for the full Council meetings. Highlights include the usual requirements of the award (spending plans, assessment of the administrative mechanism, etc.), a revised service directive for Care Coordination from the IOC Committee, recommendations regarding special populations from the Needs Assessment Committee, and updates/presentations on the Framing Directive, HIV & Aging Services, Data Workgroup Recommendations, Quality Management Plan, and HIV policy issues.
The next full Council meeting will be on December 5th, 3-5pm in-person at Cicatelli Associates, 505 8th Ave., 20th floor in Manhattan. There will be a Zoom option.
Agenda Item #6: Policy Update
Mr. Guzman presented an update on HIV-related law and policy issues, including: 1) HIV, STIs, Viral Hepatitis, and Vaccines National Strategic Plans Updates; 2) HIV Updates (including mandated PrEP coverage, HIV and aging systems integration); 3) STI Updates (mpox, OTC syphilis tests); 4) Health Systems Updates (Medicaid 1115 waiver funding, Essential Plan expansion); 5) Sexual Health Education Updates (establishment of the NYC Sexual health Education Task Force); 6) 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey; 7) COVID-19 home tests by mail; and 8) 2024 General Election Updates.
In response to a question, Ms. Silver explained that Public Health Solutions’ Social Care Network contract is for coordinating the activities of CBOs in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and not directly providing services. Also, NYS DOH is creating an advisory board of Medicaid enrollees to get consumer input into the program (information will be disseminated to the Council).
Mr. Roth presented DOHMH HIV and sexual health communications updates, including: a new PrEP pocket guide, updated “Be HIV Sure” social marketing campaign, Doxy PEP materials, “Summer of Sexual Health” campaign, and links to HIV- and STI-related webpages. He also displayed several STI- and hepatitis-related provider communications.
Agenda Item #7: Public Comment, Part II
Mr. Maia asked about the reliability of fentanyl test strips, which are generally reliable when testing opiates, but less reliable for amphetamines. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
