Clinician's Guide to Working with Asian and Pacific Islanders Living with HIV
Resource for medical providers dealing with cultural challenges in serving Asian and Pacific Islander (API) patients living with HIV/AIDS.
Resource updated 09/14/2023
Resource for medical providers dealing with cultural challenges in serving Asian and Pacific Islander (API) patients living with HIV/AIDS.
Resource updated 09/14/2023
Part A Planning Councils of HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) are appointed by the Chief Elected Official (CEO) for the Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA)/Transitional Grant Area (TGA). Planning Councils do needs assessments and then set HIV/AIDS related service priorities for RWHAP Part A funds, based on identified needs. Planning Councils are also required to jointly develop a comprehensive plan with the Ryan White Part A recipient.
Approaches to providing and linking to housing services and serving homeless and unstably housed clients.
Spotlight: See resources developed by The HIV, Housing & Employment Project, a HRSA SPNS initiative.
The health care insurance coverage landscape has seen rapid changes in recent years. Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) care providers work with public and private payers to secure inclusion in their networks and reimbursement for services not covered by grants. RWHAP staff also serve as counselors/navigators to help clients make wise choices on health insurance coverage.
Eligibility determination is a process of collecting information from an individual in order to provide access to appropriate sources of health insurance, services, and other benefits. Such determinations take place at initial intake but also at periodic intervals (recertification) to verify any changes in eligibility status. Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program eligibility determination and enrollment processes help ensure:
The Ryan White eligibility determination processes contain a collection of information on multiple criteria:
The Eligibility Determination processes are being enhanced via online systems that interface with insurance Marketplace systems established under the Affordable Care Act.
A sampling of HIV clinical training resources (e.g., guidelines, clinical tools) are featured here. For more, see the AIDS Education and Training Center's (AETC) National Coordinating Resource Center (NCRC) for training (e.g., National HIV Curriculum, webinars); consultations (e.g., National Clinician Consultation Center, access to regional experts); library (e.g., guidelines, training tools, and more, organized by topic); and community (e.g., newsletters).
The AETC Program is the clinical training arm of HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
The Access, Care, and Engagement (ACE) TA Center is building Ryan White agency capacity to enroll clients in health coverage. See also Enrollment Resources for Consumers.
Resources for Ryan White programs in assessing Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) in relation to the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Collection of tools on third-party billing and reimbursement and calculating the cost of care.
Collection of resources on contracting with health insurance plans and provider networks, with an emphasis on leveraging the agency's role as an Essential Community Provider (ECP). Marketplace plans must include some ECPs in their provider networks.
Videos for your waiting room or website, posters, fact sheets, and other resources developed to educate and inform RWHAP clients about health care and insurance.
Agencies can fiscally benefit by generating program income through contracts with public and private payers and efficient billing systems.
Linkage services are critical to helping people living with HIV find and stay in care. For newly diagnosed people, rapid (same day) linkage is becoming a standard. Patients undergoing life transitions (moving, loss of insurance, release from jail or prison) need linkage services that are sensitive to their situations.
When HIV is suppressed, or controlled by medications and other care, people are protected from HIV-related illnesses, and are much less likely to pass the virus to their sexual partners or unborn children. Another word for "viral suppression" is "undetectable" meaning the levels of HIV in a person's blood (viral load) are so low that the laboratory test cannot measure them.
The HIV care continuum is a representation of the extent to which individuals living with HIV are diagnosed, engaged in care and benefiting from antiretroviral therapy in terms of full viral suppression (undetectable lab values). The value of the continuum in managing the HIV epidemic is compelling: individuals engaged in care can manage HIV as a chronic condition and simultaneously reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
HIV-related stigma compromises the well-being of people with the disease. Stigmatized individuals may suffer discrimination that can lead to loss of employment and housing, estrangement from family and society, and increased risk of violence. HIV-related stigma can also drive new HIV infections because it can deter people from getting tested for the disease, make them less likely to acknowledge their risk of infection, and discourage those who are HIV-positive from discussing their HIV status with their partners and families.
Nearly half of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) clients are aged 50 years and older. As with the overall RWHAP population, the majority of older Ryan White clients are from racial and ethnic minority populations and have lower incomes. Their viral suppression rates, across key populations, are slightly above the overall RWHAP rate, with the exception of those with unstable housing. Care for older people can be challenging if they are being treated for multiple conditions as they may need support to manage (and pay for) complicated treatment regimens.
The HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau's performance measure portfolio is a set of standardized measures aligned with milestones along the HIV care continuum. Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program recipients are encouraged to use them, including the core performance measures, which completed the rigorous National Quality Forum infectious disease endorsement process.
HAB’s RSR data quality goal is for all providers to have at least 90% known values – that is valid data excluding missing or unknown values – for five client-level data elements: health insurance status, housing status, federal poverty level, viral load, and prescribed ART. These data elements are required to both establish Ryan White eligibility and demonstrate critical HIV health outcomes.