Multiple workshops at Ryan White 2012 focused on the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—the biggest change in health care law since Medicare and Medicaid over 40 years ago.

ACA is expanding access to coverage for all Americans, including Ryan White clients. Today, nearly two thirds of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are getting help with their HIV/AIDS care needs from government programs (Medicaid, Medicare, Ryan White), according to How the Affordable Care Act Helps People Living with HIV/AIDS: 2011 and Beyond. Thirteen percent are covered by private insurance and 24 percent have no coverage.

By 2014, as a result of ACA, millions of individuals will be access insurance on the individual or small group market via Marketplaces. Among them will be millions of individuals who will be able to access private insurance options through tax credits and subsidies and millions more who will become eligible for Medicaid (and the dually eligible under Medicaid/Medicare) as coverage expands under ACA--including Ryan White clients and others covered by programs like CHIP.

Preparing for Change

Several workshops focused on work underway in California, like Alameda County (The Future Arrives: The Intersection of Ryan White and Health Reform in a California EMA, Workshop G-12). Kathleen Clanon (Pacific AETC Clinical Director) offered a number of tips for Ryan White programs to prepare for changes in HIV/AIDS care, including:

• Seek and secure status as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
• Determine how to work within networks of care (e.g., Medicaid managed care, pharmacy networks).
• Diversify funding.
• Prepare for an insured client base. 
• Look to establish data sharing agreements.
• Think strategically about how Ryan White can fill gaps in care in this new environment.
• Re-fund benefits counseling.
• Keeping abreast of reform activities.

Recap: ACA Sessions at Ryan White 2012

Below is a summary of ACA-related sessions held at the 2012 grantee meeting, although the topic certainly came up far more frequently in other workshops and hallway conversations.

• Readiness Technical Assistance for Health Insurance Participation by Ryan White Program Providers: The Time is Now! (B-14) 
• Assessing the Potential Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Action (B-35).
• Early Adoption Of Healthcare Reform In Los Angeles County: Planning For The Migration Of Ryan White Patients Into The New Low-Income Health Program (C-16).
• The Impact of Health Reform on Compliance Programs (C-24).
• Ryan White Part B Services Post Healthcare Reform – One State’s Experience (D-1).
• Improving Access to HIV Care Under Health Care Reform (D-24).
• Change Agents: Impact of ACA and Medicaid Reform on Ryan White Part A Funded Services (D-26).
• The Ryan White Program and Health Care Reform (F-10).
• The Future Arrives: The Intersection of Ryan White and Health Reform in a California EMA (G-12).
• Guidance to Integrating Affordable Care Act, National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and Ryan White (G-18).
• The Affordable Care Act: Preparing Part B and ADAPs for Implementation (G-35). 
• Incorporating Healthcare Reform, EIIHA and More into Program Needs Assessments (P-90).

Learn more about the Affordable Care Act at HealthCare.Gov.