Core Services and Support Services

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 states that grantee expenditures are limited to core medical services, support services, and administrative expenses.  Core medical services and support services are listed in the legislation as follows: Part A (2604(c), Part B (2612(b), and Part C (2651(c).  These services are further defined as follows (source: 2008 Ryan White Data Report Instructions).

CORE SERVICES

Outpatient/ambulatory medical care includes the provision of professional diagnostic and therapeutic services rendered by a physician, physician's assistant, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse practitioner in an outpatient setting. Settings include clinics, medical offices, and mobile vans where clients generally do not stay overnight. Emergency room services are not outpatient settings. Services includes diagnostic testing, early intervention and risk assessment, preventive care and screening, practitioner examination, medical history taking, diagnosis and treatment of common physical and mental conditions, prescribing and managing medication therapy, education and counseling on health issues, well-baby care, continuing care and management of chronic conditions, and referral to and provision of specialty care (includes all medical subspecialties).

Primary medical care for the treatment of HIV infection includes the provision of care that is consistent with the Public Health Service’s guidelines. Such care must include access to antiretroviral and other drug therapies, including prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic infections and combination antiretroviral therapies. Note: Early Intervention Services provided by Ryan White Part C and Part D programs should be reported under Outpatient/ambulatory medical care.  

Local AIDS pharmaceutical assistance includes local pharmacy assistance programs implemented by Part A, B, and/or C grantees that provide HIV/AIDS medications to clients. This assistance can be funded with Part A grant funds, Part B base award funds, and/or Part C grant funds. Local pharmacy assistance programs are not funded with ADAP earmark funding.

Oral health care includes diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic services provided by general dental practitioners, dental specialists, dental hygienists and auxiliaries, and other trained primary care providers.

Early intervention services (Parts A and B) include counseling individuals with respect to HIV/AIDS; testing (including tests to confirm the presence of the disease, tests to diagnose the extent of immune deficiency, tests to provide information on appropriate therapeutic measures); referrals; other clinical and diagnostic services regarding HIV/AIDS; periodic medical evaluations for individuals with HIV/AIDS; and providing therapeutic measures. Note: EIS provided by Ryan White Part C and Part D Programs should NOT be reported under this service category. Part C and Part D EIS should be included under Outpatient/ambulatory medical care.

Health Insurance Premium & Cost Sharing Assistance is the provision of financial assistance for eligible individuals living with HIV to maintain a continuity of health insurance or to receive medical benefits under a health insurance program. This includes premium payments, risk pools, copayments, and deductibles.

Home health care includes the provision of services in the home by licensed health care workers such as nurses and the administration of intravenous and aerosolized treatment, parenteral feeding, diagnostic testing, and other medical therapies.  

Home and community-based health services include skilled health services furnished to the individual in the individual’s home based on a written plan of care established by a case management team that includes appropriate health care professionals. Services include durable medical equipment; home health aide services and personal care services in the home; day treatment or other partial hospitalization services; home intravenous and aerosolized drug therapy (including prescription drugs administered as part of such therapy); routine diagnostics testing administered in the home; and appropriate mental health, developmental, and rehabilitation services. Inpatient hospitals services, nursing home and other long term care facilities are NOT included.

Hospice services include room, board, nursing care, counseling, physician services, and palliative therapeutics provided to clients in the terminal stages of illness in a residential setting, including a non-acute-care section of a hospital that has been designated and staffed to provide hospice services for terminal clients.

Mental health services are psychological and psychiatric treatment and counseling services offered to individuals with a diagnosed mental illness, conducted in a group or individual setting, and provided by a mental health professional licensed or authorized within the State to render such services. This typically includes psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers.

Medical nutrition therapy is provided by a licensed registered dietitian outside of a primary care visit and includes the provision of nutritional supplements. Medical nutrition therapy provided by someone other than a licensed/registered dietitian should be recorded under psychosocial support services.

Medical case management services (including treatment adherence) are a range of client-centered services that link clients with health care, psychosocial, and other services. The coordination and follow-up of medical treatments is a component of medical case management. These services ensure timely and coordinated access to medically appropriate levels of health and support services and continuity of care, through ongoing assessment of the client’s and other key family members’ needs and personal support systems. Medical case management includes the provision of treatment adherence counseling to ensure readiness for, and adherence to, complex HIV/AIDS treatments. Key activities include (1) initial assessment of service needs; (2) development of a comprehensive, individualized service plan; (3) coordination of services required to implement the plan; (4) client monitoring to assess the efficacy of the plan; and (5) periodic re-evaluation and adaptation of the plan as necessary over the life of the client. It includes client-specific advocacy and/or review of utilization of services. This includes all types of case management including face-to-face, phone contact, and any other forms of communication.

Substance abuse services - outpatien is the provision of medical or other treatment and/or counseling to address substance abuse problems (i.e., alcohol and/or legal and illegal drugs) in an outpatient setting, rendered by a physician or under the supervision of a physician, or by other qualified personnel.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Case management (non-medical) includes the provision of advice and assistance in obtaining medical, social, community, legal, financial, and other needed services. Non-medical case management does not involve coordination and follow-up of medical treatments, as medical case management does.

Child care services are the provision of care for the children of clients who are HIV-positive while the clients attend medical or other appointments or Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-related meetings, groups, or training. Note: This does not include child care while a client is at work.

Pediatric developmental assessment and early intervention services are the provision of professional early interventions by physicians, developmental psychologists, educators, and others in the psychosocial and intellectual development of infants and children. These services involve the assessment of an infant’s or a child’s developmental status and needs in relation to the involvement with the education system, including early assessment of educational intervention services. It includes comprehensive assessment of infants and children, taking into account the effects of chronic conditions associated with HIV, drug exposure, and other factors. Provision of information about access to Head Start services, appropriate educational settings for HIV-affected clients, and education/assistance to schools should also be reported in this category. Note: Only Part D programs are eligible to provide Pediatric developmental assessment and early intervention services.

Emergency financial assistance is the provision of short-term payments to agencies or establishment of voucher programs to assist with emergency expenses related to essential utilities, housing, food (including groceries, food vouchers, and food stamps), and medication when other resources are not available. Note: Part A and Part B programs must allocate, track, and report these funds under specific service categories as described under 2.6 in DSS Program Policy Guidance No. 2 (formerly Policy No. 97-02).

Food bank/home-delivered meals include the provision of actual food or meals. It does not include finances to purchase food or meals. The provision of essential household supplies such as hygiene items and household cleaning supplies should be included in this item. This includes vouchers to purchase food.

Health education/risk reduction is the provision of services that educate clients with HIV about HIV transmission and how to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. It includes the provision of information; including information dissemination about medical and psychosocial support services and counseling to help clients with HIV improve their health status.

Housing services are the provision of short-term assistance to support emergency, temporary or transitional housing to enable an individual or family to gain or maintain medical care. Housingrelated referral services include assessment, search, placement, advocacy, and the fees associated with them. Eligible housing can include both housing that does not provide direct medical or supportive services and housing that provides some type of medical or supportive services such as residential mental health services, foster care, or assisted living residential services.

Legal services are the provision of services to individuals with respect to powers of attorney, donot- resuscitate orders and interventions necessary to ensure access to eligible benefits, including discrimination or breach of confidentiality litigation as it relates to services eligible for funding under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. It does not include any legal services that arrange for guardianship or adoption of children after the death of their normal caregiver.

Linguistics services include the provision of interpretation and translation services.

Medical transportation services include conveyance services provided, directly or through voucher, to a client so that he or she may access health care services.

Outreach services are programs that have as their principal purpose identification of people with unknown HIV disease or those who know their status (i.e., case finding) so that they may become aware of, and may be enrolled in, care and treatment services. Outreach services do not include HIV counseling and testing or HIV prevention education. These services may target high-risk communities or individuals. Outreach programs must be planned and delivered in coordination with local HIV prevention outreach programs to avoid duplication of effort; be targeted to populations known through local epidemiologic data to be at disproportionate risk for HIV infection; be conducted at times and in places where there is a high probability that individuals with HIV infection will be reached; and be designed with quantified program reporting that will accommodate local effectiveness evaluation.

Permanency planning is the provision of services to help clients or families make decisions about placement and care of minor children after the parents/caregivers are deceased or are no longer able to care for them.

Psychosocial support services are the provision of support and counseling activities, child abuse and neglect counseling, HIV support groups, pastoral care, caregiver support, and bereavement counseling. Includes nutrition counseling provided by a non-registered dietitian but excludes the provision of nutritional supplements.

Referral for health care/supportive services is the act of directing a client to a service in person or through telephone, written, or other type of communication. Note: Referrals for health care/supportive services that were not part of ambulatory/outpatient or case management services  this item. Referrals for health care/supportive services provided by outpatient/ambulatory medical care providers should be included under Item 33a, Outpatient/ambulatory medical care. Referrals for health care/supportive services provided by case managers (medical and non-medical) should be reported in the appropriate case management service category, Item 33k Medical Case Management or Item 33m Case management (non-medical).

Rehabilitation services are services provided by a licensed or authorized professional in accordance with an individualized plan of care intended to improve or maintain a client’s quality of life and optimal capacity for self-care. Services include physical and occupational therapy, speech pathology, and low-vision training.

Respite care is the provision of community or home-based, non-medical assistance designed to relieve the primary caregiver responsible for providing day-to-day care of a client with HIV/AIDS.

Substance abuse services - residential is the provision of treatment to address substance abuse problems (including alcohol and/or legal and illegal drugs) in a residential health service setting (shortterm). Note: Part C programs are not eligible to provide Substance abuse services - residential.

Treatment adherence counseling is the provision of counseling or special programs to ensure readiness for, and adherence to, complex HIV/AIDS treatments by non-medical personnel outside of the medical case management and clinical settings.