AIDS.gov: HHS consults community on funding to implement the Strategy
Many of you asked the $64,000 questions when the National HIV/AIDS Strategy was released: "How's it going to be funded?"
You asked, and President Obama responded. In the budget the President proposed for next federal fiscal year, the Administration asked Congress to set aside 1% of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) HIV funding for Strategy implementation.
In June 2011, HHS brought together community and government stakeholders recommendations how the implementation funding should be used. A top HHS official, Dr. Ron Valdisari, posted an extensive summary of the meeting over at AIDS.gov. Here's a snippet:
Proposed National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Fund
By Ronald Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Because the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) is a priority endeavor for the U.S. government, when the President released his Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) budget proposal in February of this year, he proposed a special fund to support the implementation of the Strategy. If approved, the FY12 Budget Proposal authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer one percent of the department’s domestic HIV/AIDS spending to promote new, collaborative efforts in support of the goals of the NHAS. If approved in the Congressional appropriations process, this would establish a fund of approximately $60 million dollars that would be administered by the Assistant Secretary for Health whose office would work closely with HHS operating divisions, staff offices, and community partners to determine the most strategic ways to use these resources to move us closer toward achieving the goals of the NHAS.
[...]
Consultation on Possible Uses of NHAS Implementation Fund
To begin the process of seeking input, on June 21, 2011, HHS convened some 40 stakeholders (PDF 64KB) from inside and outside of government to discuss principles and priorities that should be considered in the event that these resources become available in FY12. Mr. Jeffrey Crowley, Director of the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), noted at the start of the meeting that the idea for an NHAS Implementation Fund grew out of requests from the community to ensure that resources are available to implement the Strategy.
Call your Representative to say “Thank You!”
In the past couple of weeks, U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) have been circulating a dear-colleague letter in the House, inviting members of Congress to support them in requesting an official, unbiased estimate from the Congressional Budget Office of the needed investments and corresponding savings of a fully implemented National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
Thanks to your efforts, 40 cosigners have joined the letter! You can view the letter here to see if your Representative signed on. If so, call him or her to say "Thank you for signing on to the Quigley/Lee letter requesting a cost/savings estimate for implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy."
Work Group Seeks Input on Care Recommendations
A diverse group of 34 stakeholders with expertise in HIV-related service provision, policy, and planning met in December 2009 to develop HIV care and treatment recommendations for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. A draft version of their recommendations is posted here for stakeholder input and comments. Stakeholders are invited to offer suggestions on the draft until 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Submit suggestions via email by clicking here. Working group members will consider all suggestions and post the final version of the recommendations on Friday, February 12. Working group members will invite endorsements of the document once it is finalized.