Three-Part Series: Improving Care for People Living with HIV: Opportunities for State Medicaid-Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Collaboration
States play critical roles in ensuring that people living with HIV (PLWH) have access to quality care through their Medicaid and Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs. PLWH can be among the most medically complex individuals covered by state health programs, and their care can cost five-times more than the average Medicaid beneficiary. Given limited resources, state policymakers are working to develop policies and strategies to ensure that care to PLWH is accessible, well-coordinated, and effective.
This three-part series explores policy levers and strategies that states are utilizing to focus limited resources and provide comprehensive and accessible care to PLWH.
- State Strategies to Improve Collaboration Between Medicaid and AIDS Drug Assistance Programs: This report explores how Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin are using policy levers to more effectively deploy limited resources and provide better care to PLWH.
- States Strengthen Medicaid-Ryan White Collaboration to Improve Care Coordination for People Living with HIV: This report explores how Medicaid and Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs in California, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin have partnered to improve care coordination services for people living with HIV.
- Maintaining Access: State Strategies to Coordinate Eligibility between Medicaid and Ryan White Programs: This report examines how Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Phoenix (AZ), Texas, and Vermont have coordinated eligibility between Medicaid and Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs in order to help ensure consistent access to care for people living with HIV.
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
