Memorandum of Support for Bill: S8227/A11487

S8227/A11487: Makes provisions relating to HIV testing, including consent for such testing, required offering for such testing, confidentiality and disclosure.

The Latino Commission on AIDS submits this memorandum in support of S8227/A11487, which wouldrevise the informed consent requirements associated with HIV testing in New York state, while ensuring that patient protections are maintained; tailors counseling information based on HIV test results; updates current testing requirements to reflect medical advances; and facilitates authorization for testing in the case of certain occupational exposures to HIV infection.

In the twenty years since the Latino Commission on AIDS has been providing HIV prevention services and care in New York, we have seen significant advances in medical treatment. An HIV/AIDS diagnosis used to be tantamount to a death sentence. Today, people who are diagnosed early in their disease can have access to improved treatments and monitoring. It is vital to the health and well being of our state to increase HIV/AIDS testing rates so that people with HIV can seek treatment earlier and reduce transmission to others. The great majority of persons, who know they are HIV positive, do not transmit HIV to others.Studies show that once they know of their status, at least 95% of those living with HIV infection do not transmit the virus to others and most take steps to protect their partners[1].

Testing is the essential first step in linking people with HIV to medical care and ongoing support to help them establish and maintain safer behaviors. Unfortunately, data suggests that many people with HIV are diagnosed late in the course of their infection, when it may be too late to fully benefit from life-extending treatments. CDC data shows that Latinos progress to AIDS faster than any other racial or ethnic group with 42% being diagnosed with AIDS within 12 months after learning of their positive HIV status compared to 34% late diagnosis among white non Hispanic and 35% among blacks[2].In New York state27% of newly diagnosed HIV cases have a concurrent AIDSdiagnosis, and 35% show an AIDS diagnosis within 12 months[3].That means that valuable time was wasted and in many cases these individuals didn't receive an HIV test until after they were ill with an AIDS-defining condition and their medical options were greatly reduced.

S8227/A11487 would ensure that routine HIV testing is made available to New Yorkers under the same terms and conditions as other routine health screenings and would greatly expand communities of colors access to HIV testing. Routine HIV testing isa key to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. It will encourage more people to get tested and raise awareness about the continuing risk of the disease. It will also allow thousands of New Yorkers who are living with HIV/AIDS but do not know it, to find out about their infection, begin life-extending treatment, and avoid spreading the virus to others. This is especially important for people over 40 since 73 percent of persons living with HIV/AIDS in New York are age 40 or older. A population that routinely seeks out medical care but not HIV testing.

This bill signals a change in the course of HIV prevention. Supporting S8227/A11487is one of the most significant and relevant actions that our elected officials can take to dramatically impact a decrease in HIV incidence and the Latino Commission on AIDS commends Senator Thomas K. Duane and Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried for their continued courage in the fight against HIV/AIDS and for focusing attention on routine HIV testing.
New Yorkhas an unprecedented opportunity to suppress the spread of this disease through support of a state-wide, coordinated and vigorous scale-up of routine HIV testing. It is important that we have legislation that removes regulatory barriers to routine HIV testing. The lives of African Americans, Latinos and other communities most heavily impacted by this disease depend on it.
The Latino Commission on AIDS encourages the New York legislature to support S8227/A11487. Passage of this bill will undoubtedly save thousands of lives.

Sincerely,

Guillermo Chacon

President, Latino Commission on AIDS

Memo of Support for S8227/A11487Latino Commission on AIDS

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[1]Holtgrave DR, Hall HI, Rhodes PH, et al. Updated annual HIV transmission rates in the United States, 1977-2006. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2009;50(2):236-238.

[2]CDC, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, Vol. 17, Revised Edition; June 2007.

[3]New YorkState HIV/AIDS Surveillance Annual Report For Cases Diagnosed Through December 2007