On September 18, 2014, the Housing for Persons With AIDS Modernization Act of 2014 was introduced in the House of Representatives. This bill would revise the formula used in distributing annual appropriations under the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program. One of the most significant components of the Administration’s legislative proposal is shifting from cumulative AIDS cases, which counts deceased people, to living HIV and AIDS and adding both a housing cost factor and a poverty factor. The measure importantly includes a 3 year hold harmless provision designed to avert the destabilization of well operating programs. The update to the formula is mandated by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy as a means of targeting resources to follow the epidemic, central to meeting the goals of increasing access to care and eliminating health disparities. It is hoped the bill can serve as a focus for community dialogue to achieve consensus on a measure that can be introduced and considered in the first session of the 114th Congress.
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