Single Source Procurement: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Program Targeting High-Risk Populations
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.
This funding will support a staff position to address the growing demand for PrEP services. A staff position responsible for coordinating the non-medical aspects of PrEP services will enable clinicians to focus on prescribing PrEP to their high-risk patients and expand the agency's capacity to provide PrEP to additional patients. This clinical support will enable Betances Health Center to continue expansion of the PrEP program in a hard-to-reach community at high risk for HIV infection.
A critical component of the plan to end AIDS as an epidemic in New York State is facilitating access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for populations at high risk of HIV infection. Betances currently receives $50,000 annually from NYSDOH for promoting PrEP and other HIV prevention methods through outreach and testing activities. Through this contract (CO29983) they reach a largely Latino men who sleep with men (MSM) population reporting high-risk behaviors as well as other high-risk HIV negative individuals in a primarily immigrant community on the Lower East Side of New York.
As a result of their effective efforts, Betances' PrEP program has more than 55 active patients. Betances is a relatively small organization and doesn't have enough staff to continue to take on the additional duties required by patients starting and continuing on PrEP. Activities such as securing insurance coverage, pre-authorizations and access to medication require significant staff time. Many of the agency's PrEP patients have additional challenges associated with poverty such as housing and food insecurity, lack of insurance coverage and immigration status issues, which add to the administrative burden associated with PrEP.
A caseload of this size and complexity requires a staff person who can assume the primary responsibility for managing the agency's PrEP-related services and patient care coordination to ensure that individuals on PrEP have required tests, attend medical follow up visits and receive counseling regarding medication adherence and harm reduction.
| Procurement / Program Name | Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Program Targeting High-Risk Populations |
|---|---|
| Contractor Name(s) | Betances Health Center |
| Contract Period | 4/1/2017 – 3/31/2019 |
| Contract Number(s) | C029983 |
