HTML Preview Food Service Complaint Letter page number 1.
Presidential Advisory Council
on
.
HIV/AIDS
May
25,2016
The Honorable Sylvia Burwell
Secretary Department
of
Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Madame Secretary:
Thank you for your continued support and leadership
in
the fight against HIV. In this letter, the
President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) advocates for adoption
of
policies that
will help our country meet the goals
ofthe
National HIV/AIDS Strategy, including reducing HIV
incidence and HIV -related health disparities, and increasing access to care and optimizing health
outcomes.
Researchers, medical providers, policymakers, and advocates increasingly recognize the
importance
of
social determinants
ofhealth
(SDH) such as food security, housing status,
education, and income, in determining health outcomes.i Rec·ently, PACHA heard from experts
in research, policy, and provision
of
services about the impact
of
food and nutrition services
(FNS) on health outcomes and healthcare costs for people living with HIV. There is compelling
evidence that provision
of
medically-tailored meals and food (that are designed by a registered
dietitian to
meetthe
health needs
of
an individual with HIV and other comorbidities) reduces the
number and length
of
hospitalizations, increases the likelihood that someone can
be
discharged
from the hospital to their home instead
of
to an acute care facility, and significantly reduces
health care costs.
ii
Effective use
of
FNS has been shown to improve retention in care, treatment
adherence, and overall health outcomes.
ii
i We urge the Department
of
Health & Human Services
to take the following steps:
(1) Expand coverage
of
medically-tailored meals and food in Medicare for people with
chronic illness. The provision
of
medically-tailored meals or medically-tailored food has
enormous potential to help improve health outcomes and reduce costs in an elderly
population with chronic illness, including HIV/AIDS. We assert that such meals or food
items should be a covered Medicare benefit upon diagnosis
of
a chronic illness such as HIV
and prescription by a medical provider. While some Medicare programs currently cover