Nevada’s Ryan White Programs Resource Directory

Whether you are new to the HIV/AIDS field or not, we hope this section will be useful to you in understanding the many facets of the Ryan White Programs.

You may also visit the following LINKS to other resources for HIV/AIDS- related terms:

• http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/GlossaryHIVrelatedTerms_English. pdf
• https://endhivnevada.org//wp-content/uploads/2018/02/GlossaryHIVrelatedTerms_English.pdf
• https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/index.html

ADAP: AIDS Drug Assistance Program funded through the Part B Program. Congress “earmarks” funds that must be used for ADAP, an important distinction since other Part B spending decisions are made locally.

ADAP Formulary: A list of available and approved Anti-retroviral (ARV) HIV medications.

AIDS: (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome): The most severe phase of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Persons infected with HIV are said to have AIDS when they get certain opportunistic infections or when their CD4+ cell count drops below 200.

Allocations: Refers to the distribution of dollar amounts or percentages of funding to established priorities – service categories, geographic areas, populations, or subpopulations. It does NOT involve contracting with or giving money to specific service providers.

ART: Anti-retroviral therapy. Class of medications that obstruct the HIV virus life-cycle.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The CDC is a Federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Their mission is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. The CDC is the Federal agency responsible for tracking diseases that endanger public health, such as HIV.

CD4+ cell (Also known as T helper cell): A type of T cell found in the blood that is involved in protecting the body against infections. CD4+ cells normally orchestrate the immune response, signaling other cells in the immune system to perform their special disease-fighting functions.

CD4+ cell count: A measure of the number of CD4+ cells present in the blood. (Because HIV infection kills CD4+ cells, CD4+ cell count is used to track the progress of HIV infection.)

CDC: See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CMV: Cytomegalovirus.

Case Manager (CM): Assists clients with the access to primary medical care, psychosocial and other services to insure timely, coordinated access to medically- appropriate levels of health and support services and continuity of care.

COBRA: (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) Federal Act that gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events.

Common Guidance Document: Another name for the Universal Nevada Ryan White Parts A, B, C & D Eligibility Packet.

Community Planning: Steps taken and methods used by a community to gather information, interpret it, and produce a plan for rational decision-making.

Cost Share/Patient Share: The ADAP client’s monetary cost for program participation. Some ADAPs require that program participants share in the cost of their medications. The mechanisms for this requirement vary from state to state but are usually based upon client income and set on a sliding scale fee. Some ADAPs require a monthly cost share payment to the program while other ADAPs mandate a nominal cost per prescription. The funds from the cost share component are returned to the ADAP to defray administrative and programmatic costs.

Declaration of Resources Form: Otherwise known as Form 15-45 or Verification of No Income Form

Eligibility & Enrollment Document Checklist Form: Otherwise known as Form 15-54.

Eligibility Specialist: Responsible for ensuring client eligibility and working with the Case Manager to ensure effective client follow-up and adherence to all eligibility standards.

ENDHIVNevada Campaign: A campaign designed to:

• Continue the dialogue about HIV disease, stigma, care, treatment and prevention
• Strengthen the strategy in reaching those that are unaware of their status, newly diagnosed individuals, the out-of-care populations, Service Providers and those engaged in HIV care, Planning Council members, stakeholders in the community and the general public.
• Align itself to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to achieve an AIDS-free generation by 2020
• Offer information and resources regarding the availability of HIV services throughout the state of Nevada

Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG): The threshold of low-income for service eligibility

Form 15-45: See Verification of No Income form or Declaration of Resources form. Form 15-53: See Universal Application form.

Form 15-54: See Eligibility & Enrollment Document Checklist form.

HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy): Aggressive anti-HIV treatment usually including a combination of drugs called protease inhibitors and reverse transcriptase inhibitors whose purpose is to reduce viral load infection to undetectable levels.

Heath Education/Risk Reduction: Activities that educate patients living with HIV about how HIV is transmitted and how to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

Health Insurance Continuation Program (HICP): A statewide program that provides financial assistance to individuals living with HIV to maintain or to access health insurance by way of premium payments, co-payments, and deductible payments. If you have private health insurance or need to enroll in private health insurance, but can’t afford to pay for premiums or copays then this program is for you.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus): A virus that infects and takes over certain cells of the immune system that are important in fighting disease.

HIV antiretrovirals: Medications, such as zidovudine (AZT) and saquinavir, designed to attack HIV and prevent it from multiplying.

HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information

HOPWA: HOPWA stands for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS. It was established to provide housing assistance and related supportive services for low- income persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

HRSA: The Health Resources and Services Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in Rockville, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.

Legal Services: Legal assistance provided to and/or on behalf of the individual living with HIV and involving legal matters related to or arising from their HIV disease or care.

Medical Transportation Services: Transportation services provided, directly or through voucher, to a client so that he or she may access health care services.

Nevada’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP): The AIDS Drug Assistance Program helps ensure that people living with HIV and AIDS who are uninsured and under-insured have access to medication. See the most current policies and procedures for the formulary at: http://dpbh.nv.gov/Programs/HIV-Ryan/dta/Policies/Ryan_White_Policies_and_Procedures/

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Ryan White HIV/AIDS Part B Program (RWPB): Provides medications and services to eligible Nevadans living with HIV/AIDS.

Nevada Integrated HIV Prevention & Care Plan: A comprehensive and all-inclusive federally mandated document whose mission is to develop local strategies to accelerate progress toward reaching the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The ultimate goals are to prevent new HIV infections, increase access to care and improve health outcomes, and reduce HIV-related health disparities.

Non-Medical Case Management: Provide guidance and assistance in accessing medical, social, community, legal, financial, and other needed services. You will work 1:1 with a Case Manager to achieve goals to increase your quality of life.

Opportunistic infections: Infections that take advantage of the opportunity offered when a person’s immune system has been weakened by HIV infection. At least 25 medical conditions, including bacterial, fungal, and viral infections and certain types of cancer, are associated with HIV infection.

People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): Infants, children, adolescents, and adults infected with HIV/AIDS.

Pandemic: An epidemic over a large area or country.

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP): A pneumonia that strikes individuals with weakened immune systems.

PEP: Post exposure prophylaxis, or PEP.

PrEP: Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a way for people who do not have HIV but who are at substantial risk of getting it to prevent HIV infection by taking a pill every day. When taken consistently, PrEP has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people who are at substantial risk by up to 92%.

Prevalence: A proportion of persons in a population who are infected, at a specified point in time or over a specified period of time, with HIV.

Prophylactic: Something that guards against or prevents disease.

Prophylaxis: A treatment designed to prevent the spread of disease and preserve health.

Protease: An enzyme that triggers the breakdown of proteins in the body. HIV’s protease enzyme breaks apart long strands of viral protein into the separate proteins constituting the viral core and the enzymes it contains. HIV protease acts as new virus particles are budding off a cell membrane.

Protease inhibitor: A drug that binds to and blocks HIV protease from working, thus preventing the production of new functional viral particles.

Referral for Health Care/Supportive Services: Benefits counseling and enrollment are services available under this title. Eligibility screening and enrollment for Ryan White Programs is the main function.

Serostatus: The result of a blood test for the antibodies that the immune system creates to fight specific diseases.

Seronegative: Indicates that a person’s blood lacks antibodies to a specific infectious agent, such as HIV.

Seropositive: Indicates that a person’s blood contains antibodies to infections, such as HIV.

Universal Application Form: See Form 15-53

Verification of No Income Form: Otherwise known as Form 15-45 or Declaration of Resources Form.

Viral Load: An estimate of the amount of virus present, a measure of the severity of a viral infection.