Single Source Procurement: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Program - End of AIDS - Co-located Services Demo Project

Pursuant to New York State Finance Law § 163.10(b), The New York State Department of Health is presenting the following summary of relevant circumstances, and material and substantial reasons why a competitive procurement was not feasible.

On June 29, 2014, Governor Cuomo made an important announcement, in which he detailed a three-point plan to "Bend the Curve" and move us closer to the end of the AIDS epidemic in New York State. The goal is to reduce the number of new HIV infections to just 750 (from an estimated 3,000) by 2020.

The three-point plan includes:

  1. Identifying persons with HIV who remain undiagnosed and linking them to health care;
  2. Linking and retaining persons diagnosed with HIV in health care and maintaining them on antiretroviral therapy to maximize HIV viral load suppression so they remain healthy and to prevent further transmission; and
  3. Facilitating access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk HIV negative persons.

A PrEP implementation program is being established to achieve the third goal of the Governor's three-point plan. This program seeks to fund a number of strategies to implement PrEP as part of Health Care for high risk sexually active individuals. The strategy of this demonstration program seeks to fund co-located services – medical and community based HIV services.

PrEP is a science that is in its infancy. The evidence is consistently being published and our ability to respond in a quick manner is essential. With Governor Cuomo's June 29th announcement (http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/06292014-end-aids-epidemic), New York is the first state in the nation to establish the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2020. PrEP is one of the three key points of the Governor's plan. This proposal involves a PrEP demonstration project that will inform the development of a procurement for PrEP programs. This demonstration project will provide the basis for the development of program standards and expectations that will be incorporated into a competitive procurement. It is essential that the NYSDOH take immediate steps in working with agencies regarding PrEP. The requests contained in this waiver allow us to take immediate steps with regard to the implementation of PrEP, determine how the science applies to the real world over time and create systems that can adapt quickly to changing needs. The proposed 4.5 year demonstration period will be invaluable in shaping the direction of this project. The AIDS Institute plans to issue a competitive RFA to re-procure these services at the conclusion of this demonstration project.

Following the conclusion of the PrEP workgroup, six agencies were selected and volunteered to participate in the un-funded PrEP Implementation Pilot Project. These agencies have participated using their own funding resources since February 2014. The AIDS Institute seeks to continue our relationship with these organizations to expedite this project. In order to increase their ability to provide PrEP, and to restore other health services that were temporarily diverted in order to implement the PrEP Pilot, additional funds are required to take this project further.

Four agencies that participated in the pilot project were selected to continue their participation in the demonstration project. The selection was based on the numbers of clients enrolled during the initial pilot period, showing their ability to build caseloads and facilitate access to PrEP services.

Procurement / Program Name Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Program - End of AIDS - Co-located Services Demo Project
Contractor Name(s) Multiple – Please see attached.
Contract Period 10/1/2014 – 3/31/2019
Contract Number(s) C029979 – C029982