M I N U T E S
Members Present: Paul Carr (Co-chair), Marya Gilborn (Co-chair), Raffi Babakhanian, Joan Edwards, Billy Fields, David Klotz, Scott Spiegler (for Guadalupe Dominguez Plummer, ex-officio), John Schoepp, Terry Troia
Members Absent: Matt Baney, Steve Hemraj, Marcelo Maia, Stella Safo, MD
Other Council Members Present: John Goldenbridge, David Martin
Staff Present: Doienne Saab, Johanna Acosta, PhD, Abraham Omeyoma (DOHMH); Arya Shahi, Gemma Ashby-Barclay (Public Health Solutions)
Agenda Item #1: Welcome/Introductions/Minutes
Ms. Gilborn and Mr. Carr opened the meeting, followed by a roll call and a moment of silence. The minutes of the February 10, 2025 meeting were approved with no changes.
Mr. Klotz updated the Committee on the GY 2025 grant award. The full award was expected last week, but HRSA has notified us that there will be another partial award (details TBA). When the full award is received, the number will be applied to the spending plan based on the methodology approved by the Council in February. The HRSA administrator sent a letter to all Ryan White program stakeholders reaffirming the program’s value in providing access to primary care for low-income PWH and improving health outcomes. The letter also warned against unallowable uses of funding, such as inpatient medical care and surgeries.
Agenda Item #2: GY 2025 Reprogramming Plan
Ms. Gilborn presented the draft GY 2025 reprogramming plan. The draft plan, identical to previous years, gives the Recipient the authority to move funds between service categories to make one-time enhancements to overperforming programs up to 20% of a service category’s original allocation. This allows the Recipient to maximize spending during the grant year and keep underspending as low as possible.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the GY 2024 reprogramming plan as presented. The motion was adopted 7Y-0N.
Agenda Item #3: Priority Ranking
Mr. Klotz explained the PSRA priority ranking tool, which the Council uses to assigns scores to service categories for their HRSA-mandated priority ranking. The four scoring criteria were explained: payor of last resort (POLR), access to/maintenance in medical care, consumer priority, specific gaps/needs.
A POLR analysis created by the Recipient in 2019 for the PSRA Committee was reviewed. There was a discussion of where there needs to be revisions. It was noted that a major new payor for several services provided by RWPA programs is the Social Care Networks (SCNs) set up under the Medicaid 1115 waiver. This program pays for Housing support, nutrition, transportation and case management. SCNs began in 2024 and are authorized through 2027. The hope is that they will be reauthorized, but that is unknown, given the current administration’s policies. There may be additional changes to other payors, depending on federal actions, particularly around Medicaid and other funding.
The Committee discussed areas of focus when considering possible revisions to service category rankings. A summary of the discussion follows:
- More details about SCNs and their utilization would be helpful, particularly for housing placement assistance.
- Any information about increased need for legal services would help, given the likely increase in the need for assistance accessing and maintaining benefits.
- Eligibility changes for programs need to be taken into consideration. There are no eligibility changes in NY for ADAP.
Other related topics were addressed that might impact prioritization considerations for RWPA services.
The next PSRA Committee meeting will be on May 12th. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
