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HIV Special Needs Plans

HIV Special Needs Plans (HIV SNPs) are a vehicle for providing health care to Medicaid recipients living with HIV, individuals of transgender experience, and gender non-conforming or homeless individuals, regardless of HIV status living in New York City. For more information contact New York Medicaid Choice at 1-800-505-5678 or the following HIV SNPs:

MetroPlus Partnership in Care Plan 1-800-303-9626

SelectHealth VNS Health 1-866-469-7774

Amida Care 1-800-556-0689

HIV Special Needs Plans have been operational since 2003. See this post for A History of New York HIV Special Needs Plans. This page contains the current enrollment and the history of enrollment for the 3 active Plans. Here is the HIV Special Needs Plan Model Contract . The statistics above have been extracted from the NYSDOH Monthly Medicaid Managed Care Enrollment Report.

To receive monthly updates subscribe to the hivsnp list here:https://groups.io/g/hivsnp

Borges: An interview with Giovanna Comani – The Idries Shah Foundation

An interview with Giovanna Comani, on April 2, 2025, the author of Jorge Luis Borges: Sources and Illumination, (Octagon Press, 1978, written under her surname by marriage, Giovanna de Garayalde).

https://idriesshahfoundation.org/borges-an-interview-with-giovanna-comani/

Eli Camhi

Two brothers use mangoes to help break the hunger cycle in a Ugandan village – The Christian Science Monitor

Two brothers use mangoes to help break the hunger cycle in a Ugandan village

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2025/0520/mango-project-uganda-hunger#?cmpid=shared-email&src=shared

If you want more Monitor content delivered to your inbox, sign up for one of their free newsletters: https://www.csmonitor.com/newsletters

Preparing for Possible Medicaid Cuts

While Medicaid has been the gold standard for health insurance coverage for those living with HIV in NYS for over 35 years the program is at risk for dramatic reductions in funding and/or eligibility in the near future. Providers and Plans would be wise to familiarize themselves with alternatives available to PLWH in NYS if they no longer qualify for Medicaid. Patients will need to apply individually. Providers will need to confirm that their facilities are participating. Pharmacy will also need to apply.

A summary of the following programs can be found on the New York Uninsured Care Program web site which can be found on the links below:

The NYS Department of Health, AIDS Institute offers five programs to provide access to health care (ADAP, Primary Care, Home Care, APIC and PrEP-AP) for New York State residents who are uninsured or underinsured. The Programs use the same application form and enrollment process, additional forms are required for Home Care and APIC.

ADAP – Pays for medications for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and opportunistic infections. ADAP can help people with no insurance, partial insurance, Medicaid Spend-down/Surplus or Medicare Part D.

ADAP Plus (Primary Care) – Pays for outpatient primary care services through participating clinics, hospitals, laboratory providers, and private practitioners.

ADAP Plus Insurance Continuation (APIC) – Pays for cost effective health insurance premiums for eligible participants.

The Home Care Program – Pays for home care services for chronically medically dependent individuals as ordered by their doctor. The program covers services through enrolled home health care agencies. ADAP Plus Insurance Continuation (APIC) – Pays for cost effective health insurance premiums for eligible participants.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Assistance Program (PrEP-AP) – Pays for outpatient services for eligible participants for the care and monitoring necessary to successfully use PrEP to prevent HIV infection.

Applying for Services: This eligibility assessment is used to determine eligibility for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program(ADAP), ADAP Plus(primary care), HIV Home Care, ADAP Plus Insurance Continuation (APIC) and the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Assistance Program(PrEP-AP). Additional paperwork is needed for Homecare and ADAP Plus Insurance Continuation. A separate medical eligibility form must be submitted by your clinician.

https://nyucp.providecm.net/home/index

https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/general/resources/adap/

Artificial Intelligence and Social Work

Excellent resource:

Dr. Marina A. Badillo-Diaz, LCSW
The AI Social Worker Blog

https://mabdconsulting.com/blog

Using Generative AI and Prompting in Social Work Practice – a pdf version is available to download

Free AI Guide and Resources

Artificial Intelligence and Social Work
NASW Metro DC Chapter

https://naswmetrodc.socialworkers.org/Professional-Development/Artificial-Intelligence-and-Social-Work

2024 HIV SNP Enrollment

HIV Special Needs Plans (HIV SNPs) are a vehicle for providing health care to Medicaid recipients living with HIV, individuals of transgender experience, and gender non-conforming or homeless individuals, regardless of HIV status living in New York City. For more information contact New York Medicaid Choice at 1-800-505-5678 or the following HIV SNPs:

MetroPlus Partnership in Care Plan 1-800-303-9626

SelectHealth VNS Health 1-866-469-7774

Amida Care 1-800-556-0689

HIV Special Needs Plans have been operational since 2003. See this post for A History of New York HIV Special Needs Plans. This page contains the current enrollment and the history of enrollment for the 3 active Plans. Here is the HIV Special Needs Plan Model Contract . The statistics above have been extracted from the NYSDOH Monthly Medicaid Managed Care Enrollment Report.

To receive monthly updates subscribe to the hivsnp list here:https://groups.io/g/hivsnp

Using Claims Data as a Proxy for Medication Adherence

Effective treatment of HIV is dependent on patient’s medication adherence. In  managed care plans pharmacy claims data can be used as a proxy for medication adherence.   Prescription fill dates and dosage can be used by the Plan to calculate the number of days the Member has medication. 

Plans serving the HIV population can use pharmacy claims data to monitor medication adherence. Medication possession ratio (MPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC) are the most common measures of medication adherence based on patient refill records.

“Do You Know the Difference Between These Adherence Measures?” Pharmacy Times, 6 July 2015

https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/do-you-know-the-difference-between-these-adherence-measures

Sikka, R., Xia, F., & Aubert, R. E. (2005). Estimating medication persistency using administrative claims data. Am J Manag Care11(7), 449-457.

RITx: Data Analytics and Visualization in Health Care

I just audited this online.course (free) and can highly recommend it.   It’s free unless you want a certificate of completion which requires a payment and passing series of quizzes.  

The course provides an excellent overview of the US Healthcare System incuding key components.   The curriculum is comprehensive and essential for those working in healthcare.  Be sure to review the Syllabus.  

Syllabus

Module 1: Introduction to Health Care

Components of Health Care

Stakeholders

Care Settings

Financing

Public Health

Regulatory/Research

Challenges and Opportunities

The Triple Aim

Quality and Cos

Patient Experience/Access

Systems Approach

Evidence-Based Medicine

Quality Improvement

Value-Based Reimbursement

Health Care Trends

Demographics/Population Health

Consumerism/Personalized Medicine

Emerging Trends in Health Care

Module 2: Introduction to Health Informatics

Overview of Health IT

What is Health Informatics?

How Health Informatics Supports Triple Aim

Health IT Systems and Components

EMR/EHR Modules and Ancillary Data Systems

Enterprise Systems vs. Best of Breed

Structured Versus Unstructured Data

EHR Adoption

EHR Regulations

Barriers to EHR Adoption

Interoperability and HIT Standards

Health IT Standards

Data Exchange

Clinical Decision Support

HIPAA Security

Public Health IT and Consumer Engagement

Module 3: Introduction to Data Analytics

Data Terms and Concepts

Why Data Analytics?

Virtuous Cycle in Analytics

Data Terminology

Big Data Terminology

Getting Data Ready for Analysis

Considerations Before Analyzing

Integrating Data Across Data Sets

Data Governance, Privacy, and Security

Data Governance Within the Organization

Patient Identification

Regulatory Considerations and Data Security

Analysis with Artificial Intelligence

Machine Learning in Health Care

Natural Language Processing in Health Care

Making Data Usable to Others

Finalizing Data for Analysis

Communicating Data

Module 4: Introduction to Visualizations

Value of Visualization

Visualization Best Practices

What Not to Do

Types Based on Use Case

Visualizations of Complex Data

Dashboard Design

Analyzing Visuals

Exploratory vs. Explanatory Visualization

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Visualization

Uses in Health Care

Tools for Analysis and Visualization

Gartner Software Benchmarking

Current Tools

https://www.edx.org/course/data-analytics-and-visualization-in-health-care-course-v1-ritx-dvh600x-1t2024?utm_campaign=social-sharing-course-page&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email 

2023 HIV SNP Enrollment

HIV Special Needs Plans (HIV SNPs) are a vehicle for providing health care to Medicaid recipients living with HIV, individuals of transgender experience, and gender non-conforming or homeless individuals, regardless of HIV status living in New York City. For more information contact New York Medicaid Choice at 1-800-505-5678 or the following HIV SNPs:

MetroPlus Partnership in Care Plan 1-800-303-9626

SelectHealth VNS Health 1-866-469-7774

Amida Care 1-800-556-0689

HIV Special Needs Plans have been operational since 2003. See this post for A History of New York HIV Special Needs Plans. This page contains the current enrollment and the history of enrollment for the 3 active Plans. Here is the HIV Special Needs Plan Model Contract . The statistics above have been extracted from the NYSDOH Monthly Medicaid Managed Care Enrollment Report.

To receive monthly updates subscribe to the hivsnp list here:https://groups.io/g/hivsnp