AIDS Action Plan
Implementing the updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy next year and through 2020.
In conjunction with World AIDS Day this month, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy has released the Federal Action Plan for 2016-2020, which outlines specific Federal agency actions to implement the updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy next year and through 2020.
Some of the action items include:
To improve widespread HIV testing and linkage to care:
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will provide information to State Medicaid Directors on the latest treatment guidelines, scientific advances in prevention, and program flexibility available for increased access to testing and improved care coordination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will establish new standards for linkage to care (within 1 month of diagnosis) for all new funding announcements and demonstration projects.
CDC will collaborate with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to assess and identify ways to increase HIV testing among patients in health centers who are diagnosed with acute sexually transmitted infections, an important indicator of risk for HIV infection.
To improve broad support and attain universal viral suppression for people living with HIV:
CDC will scale up use of the Data to Care public health strategy, which uses HIV data to identify those not in care, by including use of the strategy in all relevant HIV funding opportunities.
HRSA, in consultation with CDC, will develop a Data to Care learning collaborative across communities served by the Ryan White program to share effective models for addressing gaps along the HIV care continuum.
HUD will work to improve the ability of HUD-funded “Continuums of Care” to identify homeless persons living with HIV and link them to housing assistance, medical care, and other services.
To improve full access to comprehensive PrEP services:
CDC will increase awareness and uptake of PrEP by rapidly disseminating lessons learned from demonstration projects and implementation research.
Agencies including HRSA, HHS Office of Minority Health, SAMHSA, Indian Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs, will disseminate information and provide education about PrEP to their award recipients and service providers in order to improve access and increase uptake.
HHS will develop an inventory of current, federally-funded PrEP programs, policies, research, and technical assistance activities, and conduct a gap analysis to identify high-priority research and policy needs, as well as potential geographic and population targets where PrEP access should be scaled up.
To reduce discrimination against people living with HIV:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) will continue to open new investigations, as appropriate, of HIV/AIDS discrimination under the Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, as well as under the Fair Housing Act to address discrimination by housing providers.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will educate job applicants and employees living with HIV of their employment non-discrimination rights by developing materials for distribution through new channels, including health care delivery sites.
DOJ will send to all State Attorneys General, its Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-Specific Criminal Laws to Align with Scientifically Supported Factors, with a cover letter alerting them to its purpose and contents.
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta—which took place this month—the Office of National AIDS Policy released a Community Action Framework to accompany the Federal Action Plan as a tool for community organizations to ensure their priorities and programs align with their national goals, priorities, and outcomes. The Community Action Framework will assist community organizations in developing plans similar to the Federal Acton Plan.
