NYHealth President Urges Primary Care Role to End HIV Epidemic
In a President's Column commentary, David Sandman of the New York Health Foundation argues that New York must strengthen primary care and community-based approaches to finish eliminating HIV/AIDS. He cites a new NYHealth analysis showing nearly one in four New Yorkers living with HIV in 2024 were not receiving optimal care, new infections rose 23% from 2023 to 2024, and stark racial disparities persist, with Black and Hispanic New Yorkers accounting for 78% of new diagnoses but only 21% of PrEP use. Sandman points to data showing routine checkups correlate with higher HIV testing rates, while testing among 25-to-34-year-olds fell 22% since 2016, and calls for HIV testing, PrEP, and PEP prescribing to become standard parts of primary care delivered by physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and community health workers.