JSI Leading New Initiative to Promote Streamlined Eligibility Across the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

We are pleased to announce that JSI was selected to lead a new initiative aimed at streamlining access to care in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP). This two-year initiative, Linking Eligibility Across the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Parts – Dissemination Assistance Provider, is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) through the Special Projects of National Significance Program.

RWHAP eligibility policies and procedures can delay people with HIV from receiving and maintaining timely access to care, treatment, and other essential services. They can also create administrative burdens for RWHAP-funded organizations and diminish the customer experience.

“By streamlining eligibility policies and administrative requirements, more time and resources can go into providing HIV care and treatment,” said Jared Brumbeloe, project director. “We will identify best practices for linking eligibility across RWHAP Parts and promote opportunities to use other data sources, such as Medicaid enrollment, to confirm client eligibility.”

In 2021, HRSA HAB released Policy Clarification Notice (PCN) 21-02: Determining Client Eligibility & Payor of Last Resort in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, “a landmark policy for the program,” said Brumbeloe. This guidance established key changes and clarifications that allow more streamlined and flexible policies to ensure people with HIV can access and remain in care.

“We are proud of JSI’s previous work, which helped inform the changes incorporated into PCN 21-02, and we are excited to work with HRSA HAB, our project partners, and RWHAP recipients, subrecipients, and clients on this new initiative,” said Gretchen Weiss, co-principal investigator. “Determining client eligibility should not affect access to or continuity of care. This work is an essential component of our national efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United States.”

Through this initiative, JSI and its project partners will ensure that RWHAP recipients and subrecipients have access to best practices, tools, and resources that support streamlined eligibility processes, improved customer experience, and better health outcomes. Our partners include the Health Data Analytics Program at Georgetown University, NASTAD, the National Association of County and City Health Officials in partnership with the CAEAR Coalition, Killelea Consulting, the McManus Research Group at the University of Virginia, and BHJT Consulting. JSI will engage additional partners and stakeholders, including people with HIV, to ensure that project activities reflect the diversity of the RWHAP stakeholder community and address a variety of needs and settings.

The project builds on JSI’s decades-long history of working closely with HRSA HAB and the RWHAP community to improve health systems and outcomes for people with HIV.