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Q&A
Council Member Schulman questions DOHMH on HIV/AIDS funding and programs
3:01:51
·
5 min
Council Member Lynn Schulman inquires about the status of HIV/AIDS funding and programs, including potential federal funding cuts, contract reductions for community-based organizations, and the expansion of HASA eligibility. DOHMH officials, including Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse and CFO Aaron Anderson, respond to her questions, explaining budget adjustments and expressing concerns about potential federal funding risks.
- DOHMH clarifies that a $17.9 million reduction in the executive plan is a technical adjustment due to grant consolidation, not a funding cut.
- Officials express concern about potential federal cuts to HIV programs, noting that about 80% of their HIV funding is federal.
- Discussion touches on the need for better coordination with community-based organizations facing funding cuts from other sources.
Lynn Schulman
3:01:51
So we discussed during our preliminary budget hearing, I'm switching gears to HIV and AIDS.
3:01:58
We discussed funding HIV AIDS during a preliminary budget hearing a few months ago.
3:02:02
I'd like to get a status update on the funding level for this program.
3:02:06
The executive plan includes a reduction of $17,900,000 in fiscal twenty twenty five and an additional 2,600,000.0 in fiscal twenty twenty six for various HIV related services including the comprehensive HIV prevention and Ryan White HIV AIDS programs.
3:02:22
Are there any funding reductions for HIV AIDS programs reflected in the executive plan?
Michelle Morse
3:02:27
Thanks for that question.
3:02:28
I'm gonna pass to my chief financial officer.
Aaron Anderson
3:02:31
Thanks Doctor.
3:02:31
Morse.
3:02:32
Chair Schulman, yeah, what you're seeing is actually a technical adjustment.
3:02:35
I could see why it would appear that way.
3:02:38
It's really the second part of there was a consolidation of three CDC grants around prevention, surveillance, and ending the HIV epidemic.
3:02:46
So that was consolidated and put up a while back.
3:02:49
And this is just the taking down of one of the pieces that was related to that.
3:02:53
So there's not a
Lynn Schulman
3:02:54
Can can you get us a list and show us where how that's what the overlap is and everything else?
3:03:00
Is there a way to do that?
3:03:02
Sure.
3:03:02
If you could also do that.
3:03:03
Chair Brannan brought up the issue before about the gap.
3:03:06
Can you do that too and just have a, you know, a document that shows us so that we know exactly what we're talking about?
Aaron Anderson
3:03:14
Sure.
Lynn Schulman
3:03:15
So that we could be educated.
3:03:16
Thank you.
3:03:19
Are there any contract reductions for HIV AIDS programs run by CBOs?
Michelle Morse
3:03:24
We're not expecting that in FY twenty six.
3:03:28
However, as was mentioned a little bit earlier, we are concerned about potential federal cuts to HIV programs.
3:03:37
What we saw in the leaked HHS reorganization was that the HIV prevention team was eliminated at the federal level within the CDC.
3:03:47
So we're certainly concerned that our HIV prevention dollars that we currently have could be at risk.
3:03:54
About 80% of our HIV funding is federal, and that's for both prevention activities as well as for the Ryan White program obviously is fully federally funded.
3:04:03
So we certainly have concerns about the risks of federal funding, but our current planned budget in FY twenty six does not reflect any decreases in CBO funding or in HIV funding.
Lynn Schulman
3:04:16
I've heard from some CBOs that they've been cut directly.
3:04:19
Is that possible?
Michelle Morse
3:04:21
I'm sure that there are lots of CBOs that receive direct funds from the CDC or other parts of the federal government that
Lynn Schulman
3:04:28
we And do you keep track of that or
Michelle Morse
3:04:29
no?
3:04:30
We really keep track of our federal funding that we give and contract to CBOs and not so much the other funding that CBOs might have that's not related to us.
Lynn Schulman
3:04:40
Okay, is there a way maybe to do that especially in these times or?
Michelle Morse
3:04:45
I'll pass that one to my chair.
Lynn Schulman
3:04:46
Because I know like for example I was contacted by the door and they had substantial cuts.
3:04:53
So I think particularly now with what's happening with the federal government that we need to coordinate more closely now even if we haven't done that before.
Aaron Anderson
3:05:05
Yeah, think you're absolutely right, Chair Schulman.
3:05:07
I mean I think this is already a very mobilized community and I think we work very closely with that community and I think there's certainly room for continuing to
Lynn Schulman
3:05:16
If we can, yeah, if we can like pull all that together I think that would help and that would help inform whatever you guys are doing on your end as well.
3:05:26
How many grants provide funding for city run HIV programs?
Michelle Morse
3:05:32
That is a good question.
3:05:33
I'm gonna pass it to my chief financial officer.
Aaron Anderson
3:05:36
We have a number of grants.
3:05:37
I mean as we mentioned in the previous hearing there's over 60 grants that we get from the federal government.
3:05:42
I can get back to you with a specific number shortly related to HIV.
Lynn Schulman
3:05:46
Please do.
3:05:48
Do you know what specific services the grant funding covers or you'll get back to us with that too?
Aaron Anderson
3:05:53
I can get back with you too.
3:05:54
Mean it's prevention.
Lynn Schulman
3:05:55
We can have a surveillance.
3:05:56
Have you received, I presume you haven't, but have you received a notice, a notification of any pauses in funding by the federal government for HIV AIDS?
3:06:05
No?
Lyle Braxton
3:06:06
Not yet.
3:06:06
Not yet.
3:06:07
Okay.
Lynn Schulman
3:06:09
I'll ask you I would ask you about the contingency plans and you'll tell me that you haven't gotten the cuts yet and you have to ask OMB, so I answered the question for you.
3:06:15
There you go.
3:06:18
What work can be done to expand the definition of HIV and AIDS to ensure broader HASA eligibility?
3:06:26
We did that already as we passed a law for that.
3:06:31
But anything else?
Michelle Morse
3:06:33
For Hausa, I actually am not sure.
3:06:37
I have an answer to that one.
3:06:38
I'll pass to Erin.
Aaron Anderson
3:06:39
Okay.
3:06:40
Yeah, Hausa, my understanding is really a DSS, grant.
3:06:44
We to to your earlier question, Chair Schulman, mean, the big grants that we get in the world of HIV are really Ryan White, which is through HRSA, HOPWA, which is through HUD, and that's shared between our agency and DSS.
3:06:57
Those are the big ones, the CDC prevention grants.