Ryan White & HOPWA Funding Increases in Coronavirus Stimulus Package

By: Marcus J. Hopkins, Policy Consultant & Guest Contributor 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law by sitting president, Donald J. Trump, on March 27th, 2020, and in this act, two HIV-specific programs – the Ryan White Program (RW) and the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) – received a combined total of $155m (Johnson, 2020). While the funds have been allocated for these programs, there is little guidance on how those funds will be disbursed or distributed once they are received.

Photo Source: cpabr.com

RW received $90m for “existing contracts” under the law and the Public Health Service Act (Johnson). These funds come at a time when many People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are at risk of losing health insurance coverage as a result of job losses or financial hardship during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Loss of hours or employment may end up disqualifying many PLWHA from receiving employer-provided health insurance coverage, and loss of those wages may result in losing coverage purchased on the Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Exchange market. These losses in coverage will, inevitably, lead to more people turning to RW as their payor of last resort to cover the costs of medications and doctor visits.

A bigger question, however, is how are the $65m allocated to the HOPWA program going to be distributed to the states? Because of the way the HOPWA program is administered, using a series of grant awards that are then administered by states and metro regions, who then often contract out the management of those funds’ disbursal for rent payments. This relies on a lot of moving parts, not all of which consistently work. In a blog that will be posted to aaa+, later this month, we will take a look at one such situation, where the city government of Atlanta has consistently failed over nearly a decade to properly reimburse funds to a contracted organization, resulting in several hundred HOPWA recipients being evicted from their homes and the closure of the organization that was so far in debt from Atlanta’s failure to remit payment, they were forced to declare bankruptcy.

Both of these funding inclusions are fantastic, especially during a time when it is clear that these services will be vitally important for PLWHA. We will continue to monitor the situation as more news emerges.

References:

• Johnson, C. (2020, March 26). HIV programs get big money in stimulus deal to fight coronavirus. Washington, DC: Washington Blade. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/03/26/hiv-programs-get-big-money-in-stimulus-deal-to-fight-coronavirus/

Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association, but rather they provide a neutral platform whereby the author serves to promote open, honest discussion about public health-related issues and updates.