Unmet Needs for Ancillary Services and Associations with Clinical Outcomes Among Transgender Women with Diagnosed HIV: Medical Monitoring Project, United States, 2015-2020

Purpose: Access to ancillary services-including HIV support services, non-HIV clinical services, and subsistence services-can support care engagement and viral suppression and reduce disparities among people with HIV (PWH). We used representative U.S. data to assess differences in unmet needs for ancillary services between transgender women with HIV and other PWH. In addition, we examined associations between unmet needs and clinical outcomes among transgender women. Methods: We analyzed 2015-2020 Medical Monitoring Project data among transgender women (N = 362), cisgender men (N = 17,319), and cisgender women (N = 6016) with HIV. We reported weighted percentages for characteristics, and reported adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) controlling for race/ethnicity and age, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression with predicted marginal means to assess differences between groups. Results: Among transgender women, unmet needs were highest for dental care (24.9%), shelter or housing (13.9%), and transportation assistance (12.6%). Transgender women were more likely than cisgender men to have unmet subsistence needs. Among transgender women, unmet needs for ancillary services were negatively associated with many clinical outcomes after adjusting for age and race/ethnicity. Unmet needs for subsistence services were associated with higher levels of antiretroviral therapy nonadherence (aPR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.13-1.70) and detectable viral loads (aPR: 1.47; 1.09-1.98), emergency room visits (aPR: 1.42; 1.06-1.90), and depression (aPR: 2.74; 1.83-4.10) or anxiety (aPR: 3.20; 2.05-5.00) symptoms. Conclusions: Transgender women with HIV were more likely than cisgender men with HIV to experience unmet needs for subsistence services-likely a reflection of substantial socioeconomic disadvantage. Addressing unmet needs is an essential step for improving care outcomes among transgender women with HIV.

Variation in local Ryan White HIV/AIDS program service use and impacts on viral suppression: informing quality improvement efforts

The U.S. Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) funds comprehensive services for people living with HIV to support viral suppression (VS). We analyzed five years of RWHAP data from the Minneapolis-St. Paul region to (1) assess variation and (2) evaluate the causal effect of each RWHAP service on sustained VS by race/ethnicity. Sixteen medical and support services were included. Descriptive analyses assessed service use and trends over time. Causal analyses used generalized estimating equations and propensity scores to adjust for the probability of service use. Receipt of AIDS Drug Assistance Program and financial aid consistently showed higher probabilities of sustained VS, while food aid and transportation aid had positive impacts on VS at higher levels of service encounters; however, the impact of services could vary by race/ethnicity. For example, financial aid increased the probability of sustained VS by at least 3 percentage points for white, Hispanic and Black/African American clients, but only 1.6 points for Black/African-born clients. This study found that services addressing socioeconomic needs typically had positive impacts on viral suppression, yet service use and impact of services often varied by race/ethnicity. This highlights a need to ensure these services are designed and delivered in ways that equitably serve all clients.

"If I have to drive 100 miles, I'll drive 100 miles to get it": a qualitative exploration of HIV care travel behavior

ABSTRACTAlabama depends heavily on Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) funding, yet patient enrollment at one large, RWHAP-funded, academically-affiliated HIV clinic in Alabama has steadily increased each year, with approximately 20% bypassing more proximal RWHAP clinics. To understand reasons why patients travel long distances and bypass closer clinics to receive care, we conducted eight focus groups over Zoom, each containing between 2-3 participants (n = 18) and applied thematic analysis to code the data. Primary themes included: (1) Reasons for Traveling Long Distances to Receive HIV Medical Care, (2) Experiences with HIV Medical Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and (3) Travel Challenges. Some participants were attracted by the clinic's one-stop-shop model, while others eschewed local clinics to avoid status disclosure. An overarching travel challenge was lack of transportation, yet most participants favored in-person appointments over telehealth despite driving long distances. Future research should explore patient attitudes towards telehealth in greater depth.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Part B and AIDS Drug Assistance Programs during COVID-19: safety net public health programs' challenges and innovations

Introduction

We characterized the challenges and innovations of states' Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part B programs, including AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, these are important safety net programs for HIV healthcare, providing essential medical and support services, and medications, to people with HIV with low incomes who are uninsured/underinsured.

Methods

Data were collected via the 2021-2022 NASTAD National RWHAP Part B and ADAP Monitoring Project Report, a cross-sectional survey of state, district, and territorial programs through a mixed method study design. For quantitative data, we used descriptive statistics. Qualitative responses were coded and analyzed using content analysis.

Results

Forty-seven RWHAP Part B and ADAPs responded (92% response rate). The majority of respondents reported that maintaining client eligibility (78%) and working remotely (70%) were the most challenging aspects of the pandemic, particularly in regards to implementing new telehealth and e-certification platforms. In response to COVID-19, programs introduced enrollment "grace periods" (19%), bolstered client outreach (11%), allowed more than a 30 day supply of medications (79%), and supported medication home delivery for clients (80%).

Discussion

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, RWHAP Part B and ADAPs implemented several operational innovations in order to continue providing essential medicines and services. Other public health programs may adopt similar innovations, including digital innovations, for greater public health benefit. Future studies should assess the retention of policy innovations over time, their impact on the individual client level satisfaction or health outcomes, and what factors may improve the acceptability of telehealth and e-certification platforms.

Impact of Insurance Status on Outcomes in Individuals with AIDS-Defining Cancers

This single-center, retrospective cohort study evaluates whether insurance coverage and Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program assistance are associated with differences in treatment and survival outcomes in Kaposi sarcoma and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma among people with HIV (PWH). Participants were classified as having private, Medicare, Medicaid, or no insurance. Hazard ratios (HRs) for progression and death were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for imbalances in age, ethnicity, and performance status. Among 191 participants, 18% had private insurance, 14% had Medicare, 46% had Medicaid, and 23% were uninsured. Forty-four percent received Ryan White assistance. Participants with Medicare and those without Ryan White assistance were older. Those without Ryan White assistance also had worse performance status. No differences in CD4+ T cell counts, HIV viral loads, highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence, time to treatment, and regimen selection were detected. After adjustment with propensity score weighting, participants without Ryan White assistance had a greater risk of death [adjusted HR 4.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45-11.41, p = .008] and progression (adjusted HR 3.39, 95% CI 1.43-8.05, p = .006) than those with Ryan White assistance. We conclude that among people with AIDS-defining cancers, those with Medicare and those without Ryan White assistance had higher mortality, possibly due to age and other medical comorbidities. Notably, underinsured PWH who received Ryan White assistance experienced similar outcomes as those with private insurance.

Unmet needs for ancillary care services are associated with HIV clinical outcomes among adults with diagnosed HIV

Ancillary care services are essential for supporting care engagement and viral suppression among persons with HIV. Estimating unmet needs for ancillary care services may help address care barriers and improve clinical outcomes, but recent, nationally representative estimates are lacking. Using CDC Medical Monitoring Project data from 2015-2018, we report representative estimates of unmet needs for ancillary care services and associations with HIV clinical outcomes among U.S. adults with HIV. Data were collected through interview and medical record abstraction. We described weighted percentages for all characteristics and associations with HIV clinical outcomes using prevalence ratios with predicted marginal means, adjusting for potential confounding. Substantial unmet needs were reported; unmet needs were higher among persons with social determinants of poor health, persons who engaged in drug use or binge drinking, and those who experienced depression or anxiety. Having unmet needs for care was associated with adverseHIV clinical outcomes, with a dose response effect between number of unmet needs and outcomes. Expanding ancillary care access based on a comprehensive care model, strengthening partnerships between providers to connect patients to essential services, and tailoring services based on need may help reduce disparities in unmet needs and improve outcomes.

Innovations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Care Delivery During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: Policies to Strengthen the Ending the Epidemic Initiative-A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association

The goal of the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative is to reduce new infections in the US by 90% by 2030. Success will require fundamentally changing HIV prevention and care delivery to engage more persons with HIV and at-risk of HIV in treatment. While the COVID-19 pandemic reduced in-person visits to care facilities and led to concern about interruptions in care, it also accelerated growth of alternative options, bolstered by additional funding support. These included the use of telehealth, medication delivery to the home and increased flexibility facilitating access to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program services. While the outcomes of these programs must be studied, many have improved accessibility during the pandemic. As the pandemic wanes, long term policy changes are needed to preserve these options for those who benefit from them. These new care paradigms may provide a roadmap for progress for those with other chronic health issues as well.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Aging: Multimorbidity in Older People With HIV in One Nonurban Southeastern Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Clinic

Background

Age-related chronic conditions are becoming more concerning for people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH). We aimed to identify characteristics associated with multimorbidity and evaluate for association between multimorbidity and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outcomes.

Methods

Cohorts included PWH aged 45–89 with ≥1 medical visit at one Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Southeastern HIV clinic in 2006 (Cohort 1) or 2016 (Cohort 2). Multimorbidity was defined as ≥2 chronic diseases. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess for associations between characteristics and multimorbidity and between multimorbidity and HIV outcomes.

Results

Multimorbidity increased from Cohort 1 (n = 149) to Cohort 2 (n = 323) (18.8% vs 29.7%, P < .001). Private insurance was associated with less multimorbidity than Medicare (Cohort 1: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.02–0.63; Cohort 2: aOR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.27–1.00). In Cohort 2, multimorbidity was associated with female gender (aOR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.22–5.58). In Cohort 1, black participants were less likely to be engaged in care compared with non-black participants (aOR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.61–0.87). In Cohort 2, participants with rural residences were more likely to be engaged in care compared with those with urban residences (aOR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.10–1.38). Multimorbidity was not associated with differences in HIV outcomes.

Conclusions

Although PWH have access to RWHAP HIV care, PWH with private insurance had lower rates of multimorbidity, which may reflect better access to preventative non-HIV care. In 2016, multimorbidity was higher for women. The RWHAP and RWHAP Part D could invest in addressing these disparities related to insurance and gender.

HIV Care Outcomes among Hispanics/Latinos with Diagnosed HIV in the United States by Place of Birth-2015-2018, Medical Monitoring Project

Relocation from one’s birthplace may affect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outcomes, but national estimates of HIV outcomes among Hispanics/Latinos by place of birth are limited. We analyzed Medical Monitoring Project data collected in 2015–2018 from 2564 HIV-positive Hispanic/Latino adults and compared clinical outcomes between mainland US-born (referent group), Puerto Rican (PR-born), and those born outside the United States (non-US-born). We reported weighted percentages of characteristics and used logistic regression with predicted marginal means to examine differences between groups (p < 0.05). PR-born Hispanics/Latinos were more likely to be prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) (94%) and retained in care (94%) than mainland-US-born (79% and 77%, respectively) and non-US-born (91% and 87%, respectively) Hispanics/Latinos. PR-born Hispanics/Latinos were more likely to have sustained viral suppression (75%) than mainland-US-born Hispanics/Latinos (57%). Non-US-born Hispanics/Latinos were more likely to be prescribed ART (91% vs. 79%), retained in care (87% vs. 77%), and have sustained viral suppression (74% vs. 57%) than mainland-US-born Hispanics/Latinos. Greater Ryan White HIV/AIDS-funded facility usage among PR-born, better mental health among non-US-born, and less drug use among PR-born and non-US-born Hispanics/Latinos may have contributed to better HIV outcomes. Expanding programs with comprehensive HIV/AIDS services, including for mental health and substance use, may reduce HIV outcome disparities among Hispanics/Latinos.

The Impact Of Medicaid Expansion On People Living With HIV And Seeking Behavioral Health Services

While Medicaid eligibility expansion created health care access for millions in California, its impact on people living with HIV has been more nuanced. Newly covered people living with HIV who have behavioral health care needs now must navigate separate mental health and substance use care systems, instead of receiving them in integrated care settings as they had under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. We conducted forty-seven interviews in the period April 2015-June 2016 to examine the impact of Medicaid expansion on people living with HIV in California who had behavioral health care needs. California's historical division in its Medicaid funding streams created challenges in determining which payer should cover clients' behavioral health care. Compounding these challenges were a perceived lack of cultural competence for serving this population, insufficient infrastructure to facilitate continuity of care, and unmet need for nonmedical supportive services. The multipayer model under health reform has compromised the administrative simplicity and integrated delivery of HIV and behavioral health services previously available to uninsured patients through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS program recipients more likely than non-recipients to be retained in care using six different retention measures

Retention in care (RiC) is crucial for maintaining HIV health. We examined the relationship between receipt of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) supplementary services and six different measures of RiC among 2,288 adults living with HIV who received HIV primary care services at a large, academically-affiliated HIV/AIDS clinic in the southeastern United States in 2016. The independent variable of interest was RWHAP supplementary services, which referred to whether patients received documented non-medical wraparound supplementary services. The outcome was six different measures of RiC: the Institute of Medicine (IOM) indicator, 6-month gap, 4-month constancy, missed visits dichotomous, missed visits count, and visit adherence. Separate multivariable models were fit for each RiC outcome. Receipt of supplementary RWHAP services was significantly (p < .05) and positively associated with RiC across all six measures (test statistic, 95% confidence interval): IOM (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.88, 2.16-3.83), 6-month gap (aOR = 1.76, 1.48-2.09), 4-month visit constancy (aOR  =  2.03, 1.72-2.39), missed visits dichotomous (aOR  =  1.40, 1.16-1.68), missed visit count (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) = 0.77, 0.67-0.88), and visit adherence (adjusted beta coefficient (adjβ) = 0.05, 0.02-0.06). Our findings suggest that receipt of RWHAP services is important for retention in care, regardless of the measure employed.

The Impact of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Medical Case Management Program on HIV Clinical Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study

Medical case management (MCM) is a core medical service in The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and aims to provide treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS by engaging, identifying and eliminating barriers to HIV care. Little research has examined the impact of this intervention; therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the how MCM affects HIV clinical outcomes. The study took place at a midwestern, outpatient infectious diseases clinic. This study utilized a longitudinal, retrospective study design to analyze to the impact of MCM engagement on HIV clinical outcomes (viral loads, CD4 counts) from 2009 to 2015 as a time-varying predictor. A total of 2773 patients were included in this study, of which 975 patients (35.2%) engaged in MCM. Among those in MCM, approximately 90% of the population were between 25 and 64 years of age, more than three-quarters were African American men, mean time of HIV care engagement in at this clinic care was 3.2 (± 4.1), while mean years living with HIV was 10.5 (± 7.1). Throughout the study period, those engaged in MCM had a significantly faster improvement in their HIV clinical outcomes compared to the non-MCM group (p < 0.001). The study highlights the significant impact MCM services have on improving CD4 T cell counts and HIV viral loads. The successful care coordination that MCM offers clearly improves health outcomes while creating a network of patient care.

Healthcare Coverage for HIV Provider Visits Before and After Implementation of the Affordable Care Act

BACKGROUND

Before implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, 100 000 persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) lacked healthcare coverage and relied on a safety net of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program support, local charities, or uncompensated care (RWHAP/Uncomp) to cover visits to HIV providers. We compared HIV provider coverage before (2011-2013) versus after (first half of 2014) ACA implementation among a total of 28 374 PLWH followed up in 4 sites in Medicaid expansion states (California, Oregon, and Maryland), 4 in a state (New York) that expanded Medicaid in 2001, and 2 in nonexpansion states (Texas and Florida).

METHODS

Multivariate multinomial logistic models were used to assess changes in RWHAP/Uncomp, Medicaid, and private insurance coverage, using Medicare as a referent.

RESULTS

In expansion state sites, RWHAP/Uncomp coverage decreased (unadjusted, 28% before and 13% after ACA; adjusted relative risk ratio [ARRR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], .40-.48). Medicaid coverage increased (23% and 38%; ARRR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.70-1.94), and private coverage was unchanged (21% and 19%; 0.96; .89-1.03). In New York sites, both RWHAP/Uncomp (20% and 19%) and Medicaid (50% and 50%) coverage were unchanged, while private coverage decreased (13% and 12%; ARRR, 0.86; 95% CI, .80-.92). In nonexpansion state sites, RWHAP/Uncomp (57% and 52%) and Medicaid (18% and 18%) coverage were unchanged, while private coverage increased (4% and 7%; ARRR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.62-1.99).

CONCLUSIONS

In expansion state sites, half of PLWH relying on RWHAP/Uncomp coverage shifted to Medicaid, while in New York and nonexpansion state sites, reliance on RWHAP/Uncomp remained constant. In the first half of 2014, the ACA did not eliminate the need for RWHAP safety net provider visit coverage.