Health Care Reform Hot Topic, Dialogue to Continue at Town Hall

Conference organizers had to turn people away at the door of two workshops on health care reform and HIV.  From the turnouts at these sessions and the comments from presenters and audience members alike, it is clear that providers of HIV care and treatment are concerned about how to maintain the systems of HIV care built over the past twenty-five years as the nation implements health care reform and are looking for information and ideas.  As Christine Rivera, Director of HIV Uninsured Care Programs for New York  State  and one of the workshop panelists, stated, “Health care reform provides a framework for access to care, but does not guarantee it.”

The dialogue about the intersection of health care reform and Ryan White will continue at CAEAR Coalition’s town hall meeting on Wednesday evening. The event will feature a panel discussion and audience Q&A. Panelists will include representatives from AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families, CAEAR Coalition, HIVMA, and NASTAD, as well as Arent Fox.

Wakefield Links Health Care Reform and Expanded Access to HIV Care

Calling it “the largest investment in primary care in decades, if not ever,” HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, provided an overview of the impact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Affordable Care Act during her remarks at the opening plenary session of the Ryan White Grantee Meeting. Wakefield used a litany of numbers to make her case, noting, for example, that the Recovery and Reinvestment Act resulted in 1.6 million new patients at Community Health Centers, 127 new health center sites, and 10,000 new staff. According to Wakefield, significant investments in the health care workforce and Community Health Centers will continue as the Affordable Care Act is implemented.

Throughout her remarks, Wakefield made a strong link between improvements in primary care and the ability of people living with HIV to access care. She also highlighted expansion and changes in private insurance coverage and Medicaid that will benefit those with chronic diseases and reiterated the HRSA and CDC focus on increased access to HIV screening to help people learn their status and enter care. She linked this effort and health care reform initiatives to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.  Noting the role of the Ryan White Program as a model of care, she called it a “shining example of a community-based primary care model that works.”

Following Wakefield was a moving video on the history of the epidemic and the history and impact of the Ryan White Program. Ryan’s mom Jeanne White Ginder was welcomed with a standing ovation and recounted her journey from an insecure but determined mother to an eloquent and effective advocate. The crowd responded with applause and tears.

HRSA Associate Administrator for HIV/AIDS Deborah Parham Hopson, PhD, RN, FAAN, moderated the opening plenary and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius provided videotaped remarks.

Meeting to Open with Wakefield & White Ginder

HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, and Jeanne White Ginder, Ryan’s mother, will speak at the opening plenary starting at 8:30 am on Monday morning. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will also appear via a pre-recorded message.  Follow our live tweets here.

250 Workshop Topics Announced: Plan Your Schedule

In updates to the grantee meeting agenda posted today, organizers included a list of the workshops to be included in each of the 11 breakout sessions. It looks like an interesting line up, but downloading each of the 11 pdfs is a bit time consuming.  To make it a easier and faster to download and read,  we have combined them all into one pdf file. Take a look at what is being offered and start to plan your schedule.

Ryan White Grantee Meeting: August 23-26

Over 2,500 Ryan White grantee representatives–care providers, administrators, consumers and planning council members–will gather in Washington, DC next week for the biannual Ryan White Grantee Meeting–the  largest gathering of HIV/AIDS providers in the U.S.  We’ll be there to provide updates and offer you insights and reactions from those on the frontlines.

CAEAR Coalition is also sponsoring a town hall meeting, “Health Care Reform and Ryan White: What Must Be Done to Ensure They Fit,” on Wednesday, August 25 at 5:30 in the Hampton Room at the Omni Shoreham. If you’re at the grantee meeting, please join us. We’ll have reps from some of our national partners and it should be a great discussion.

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