URGENT – Defeat the HIV Testing Bill

We are asking you to call your legislators in Albany regarding the HIV Testing Bill.   Assemblymembers can be reached at 1-518-455-4100  and Senate at 518-455-2800.   Immediate action is necessary. The bill is being sponsored by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried and Senator Thomas Duane.  To send an email see article below.

We met with Assemblyman Gottfried this morning and it is his intent to move the bill forward.

This bill would require mandatory offering of HIV testing to persons 13-64 by primary care physicians in all practice settings, including the private physician office.

A Bill introduced this late is session, means that it may move quickly.

The Bill is in the Senate Rules Committee and in the Assembly Health Committee. We urge you to contact your representatives and urge defeat of this proposal.

BILL REQUIRING PHYSICIANS TO OFFER AN HIV TEST INTRODUCED IN NYS LEGISLATURE; PHYSICIANS URGED TO CALL LEGISLATORS

A bill mandating the offering of an HIV test in all clinical settings, including the private physicians offices, has been introduced in the Legislature by Senator Thomas Duane and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried.   S.8227/A.11487 has gone directly to the Senate Rules Committee and to the Assembly Health Committee.   The introduction of this legislation indicates a disturbing trend in the interference by the New York State Legislature into the physician-patient relationship.  The bill would require that all primary care physicians, defined in the bill as family medicine, general pediatrics, primary care, internal medicine, primary care obstetrics or primary care genecology, to offer an HIV test to all patients ages 13 to 64.   The bill does allow for oral, informed consent when the test being given is a Rapid HIV test.   Written informed consent is still needed for the blood test, however, consent would be included in the signed general consent for medical care and remains in effect until it is revoked. Under the measure, an opt-out provision for HIV testing must be included in the consent form.  The bill does contain provisions for occupational exposure and testing of the source patient/release of information that MSSNY supports, however, the overall bill provisions are cause for strong concerns.  Physicians are urged to call their legislators and urge that this measure be defeated.  Senators can be reached by calling 518-455-2800 and Assemblymembers can be reached at 518-455-4100.   E-mail addresses for each member can be obtained by logging on to the Senate/Assembly website at:  www.nysenate.gov/senators or http://assembly.state.ny.us

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 8:42 am and is filed under NEWS FROM THE NYS LEGISLATURE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.