Hep Free NYC Advocacy Committee – Quarterly Meeting
Via Zoom webinar – March 10, 2021 (3 – 5 PM)
Committee Goals: Review current Hep B and C Advocacy initiatives, plan for Hep Free NYC partner involvement, and work on strategies to move towards elimination of viral hepatitis.
Meeting Notes
New York City
- NY City Council Viral Hepatitis Initiative – Planning for FY22 budget season
- Baselining funds – need visits, calls, and emails with city council members to advocate for stable funding for the Viral Hepatitis Initiative
- Specifically mention “Viral Hepatitis Initiative” and:
- Describe your program and populations you serve
- Make budget request and ask that City Council cover the Article 6 match shortfall as in past years
- Planning to submit unified budget request to Council
- Opportunity to Testify at the NYC Council Health Committee Hearing on March 15
- Submit written testimony or testify via Zoom (New York City Council Health Committee Hearing) on the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget
- Register to testify at least 24 hours before the hearing
- Submit written testimony up to 72 hours after hearing
- Planning for Hepatitis Awareness Month – Contact Sarah Ahmed (sahmed10@health.nyc.gov) to attend upcoming planning call
- NYC Elimination Planning
- NYC Health Department drafting NYC Hep B and C Elimination Plan
- Will share with community for feedback
New York State
- NYS Hep C Elimination Campaign
- Timeline released: www.hcvdashboardny.org
- NYS Elimination Plan has still not been released by the Governor’s office
- 340B Program is under threat, supports many hepatitis programs in NYC
- 340B Federal drug discount program funds community health centers and other safety net providers to serve specific populations, neighborhoods, and others that have healthcare needs not being otherwise addressed due to disparities, language barriers, etc
- With 340B, savings from discounted price and index price are used to improve care
- Without 340B funding, organizations will see defaults. Possible 50 clinic closures in NYS. 700,000 healthcare jobs to be lost because of this
- Join the Save NY Safety Net Coalition: www.savenysafetynet.com
- Email your rep to sign on to the bills: S2520-Rivera /A1671-Gottfried. Ask for it to be included in the house budget bill
- Go to #SaveNYPublicHealth. Show support and add your name to http://bit.ly/defend-ph; find your representatives at:
- NYS assembly members (www.nyassembly.gov/mem/search)
- NYS senators (www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator)
- Contact Reed (r.vreeland@housingworks.org)
- Community sign-on letter to permit pharmacists to administer Hep A+B vaccines being promoted by Assembly member Glick
- Pharmacist group wants all the adult vaccines to be approved not just Hep A+B vaccines
- Not the mechanism to get all vaccinated but would help to get PWID, the unhoused or others at high risk vaccinated and would be a good strategy for peers and outreach workers (e.g. to walk client to a local pharmacy)
Federal
- CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis flat funded at $39M, plus $10M (community asked for $15M) for SAMHSA ($13M) for opioid epidemic
- Treatment Action Group (TAG) is organizing meetings on the Hill right now to advocate for increased SAMHSA funding
- Contact Annette (annette.gaudino@treatmentactiongroup.org)
- National Strategic Plan on Viral Hepatitis was released (2020 – 2025)
- In Q3 or Q4 2021 a costing estimate will be conducted to determine cost of implementing the strategic plan
- TAG, working with NVHR, launching new campaign: “#WorthTheCure”
- Seeking to remove ban federal funding for syringes, prior authorizations for DAAs, sobriety requirements and waiver system for MAT/MOUD o Contact Annette (annette.gaudino@treatmentactiongroup.org)
Opportunities to Get Involved
- Join the Hep Free NYC Advocacy Listserv: hep-free-nyc-listserv@googlegroups.com
- Visit the new Advocacy Committee webpage and community Advocacy Board.
- Join Monthly NVHR Grassroots Advocacy calls. March 18, 2020 @ 3PM – 4:00 Register
- Join Monthly Hepatitis Appropriation Partnership calls. To join contact: emccloskey@NASTAD.org
Next Meeting
- Save the date for the next meeting: Wednesday, June 9, 2021, @ 3-5pm
Attendees:
1. Farah Riazi, Outreach Coordinator, Mount Sinai Health System, farahriazi@hotmail.com
2. Joy Cambe, Program Coordinator, Empire Liver Foundation, joycambe@empireliverfoundation.org
3. Reed Vreeland, Housing Works, r.vreeland@housingworks.org
4. Sarah Ahmed, Communications and Community Engagement Coordinator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, sahmed10@health.nyc.gov
5. John J. Spellman, Executive Therapeutic Specialist, Gilead Science, john.spellman4@gilead.com
6. Joshua Lunior, NYC Health + Hospitals – Kings County Hospital Center, joshua.lunior@gmail.com
7. Nirah Johnson, Capacity Building Director, Viral Hepatitis Program NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, njohnso2@health.nyc.gov
8. Marie Bresnahan, Director of Training, Policy and Administration, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, mbresnahan@health.nyc.gov
9. Hannah Wade, Government Affairs, NYU Langone Health System, hannah.wade@nyulangone.org
10. Y-Uyen Le Nguyen, Hep B Medical Director, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, ynguyen@cbwchc.org
11. Jose Martinez, Hepatitis C and Harm Reduction Associate, New York Harm Reduction Coalition, martinez@harmreduction.org
12. Mike Selick, Hepatitis C Training and Policy Manager, New York Harm Reduction Coalition, selick@harmreduction.org
13. Grace Kim, Health Educator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, gkim@health.nyc.gov
14. Megan Haseltine, New York University (NYU) – School of Medicine, megan.haseltine@nyulangone.org
15. Marc Badura, Operations Manager, Research Foundation of SUNY, mbadura@buffalo.edu
16. Warren Hall, American Liver Foundation, whall@liverfoundation.org
17. Sarah Usher, HCV Coordinator, Sun River Health, susher@sunriver.org
18. Donette Perkins, Advocacy Coordinator, BOOM!Health, dperkins@boomhealth.org
19. Annette Gaudino, Treatment Action Group, annette.gaudino@treatmentactiongroup.org
20. Kiara Lora, Director of HCV Treatment Network, Montefiore Medical Center, kialora@montefiore.org
21. Lia Alleyne, Health Educator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, lalleyne@health.nyc.gov
22. Paul Lee, Project Coordinator, Korean Community Services, plee@kcsny.org
23. Jane Wong, Hepatitis B Project Coordinator, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, janwong@cbwchc.org
24. Meg Chappell, Program Manager, Empire Liver Foundation, megchappell@empireliverfoundation.org
