Letter to Mayor Brown - Connolly, Beyer, Wexton Send Letter To Protect Northern Virginia HIV/AIDS Funding

Letter

Dear Mayor Bowser,

We write to express our profound concerns regarding a proposal from the District of Columbia to upend the administration of Ryan White Part A funding in our region, which we believe could harm care and services for HIV-positive residents of Northern Virginia. We urge you to pursue a collaborative approach that accommodates the needs and input of Northern Virginia stakeholders.

On Tuesday, November 27, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) was informed by the District of Columbia Department of Health that the City plans to end its 28-year agreement with NVRC to serve as the local regional administrator of the Ryan White Part A program in Northern Virginia. The NVRC program serves 2,000 individuals with HIV each year and routinely achieves better client outcomes for viral load suppression and percentage of clients taking AIDS medication than the broader metropolitan region.

In 2008, the Whitman-Walker Clinic made a similar decision to close its Arlington location for AIDS treatment and support services. While that was an action taken by a private entity, it was comparable to this latest proposal in that it too was made without consultation with Northern Virginia partners and was carried out to the detriment of our constituents living with HIV/AIDS

We believe the unilateral decision by the District of Columbia to terminate its relationship with NVRC is not in keeping with the letter or intent of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act (P.L. 101-381). This arrangement has been in place for 28 years, and NVRC has successfully administered care for 2.4 million residents of our region, including managing more than $150 million in health care services for low-income, uninsured, and under-insured Northern Virginians with HIV/AIDS.

Given the statutory requirements of the Ryan White CARE Act and NVRC's commitment to delivering quality care for HIV/AIDS patients, we request that you reverse the decision to unilaterally end this longstanding arrangement by which Ryan White funding and services are provided to Northern Virginia residents.

We respectfully request that the District of Columbia engage in a collaborative process with NVRC and the local governments of Northern Virginia to determine a consensus path forward that considers first and foremost the care of our constituents with HIV/AIDS.

Sincerely,

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