'Routine HIV Screening Coverage Act' (Waters, D, CA) a 'Crucial Linchpin to Health Care Reform,...( Bill Would Require Health Insurance P...),Health

Bill Would Require Health Insurance Plans to Cover Routine HIV Tests Under the Same Terms as Other Routine Health Screenings. Legislation Could Spur Nationwide Compliance with CDC's 2006 HIV Testing Guidelines Recommending HIV Testing of All those 13-64 in Routine Health Settings

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the US which currently provides treatment, care and support services to more than 100,000 individuals in 21 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, today commended Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D, CA 35th) for reintroducing a bill to require health insurance plans to cover routine HIV tests under the same terms and conditions as other routine health screenings. The bill, which is known as the Routine HIV Screening Coverage Act, had been previously introduced by Waters (as H.R. 822) during the 110th Congress; however, action on the bill was not completed prior to adjournment.

"The 'Routine HIV Screening Coverage Act' seeks to address a major disconnect between a straightforward and prudent public health measure set forth by the CDC back in 2006 and the bureaucratic buck passing by the nation's health care insurers that has happened since then," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Nearly three years after the CDC first recommended the routine testing of all individuals ages 13-64 in all routine healthcare settings such as community clinics and emergency units, we are nowhere near compliance with our own government guidelines. Meanwhile, estimates of new US HIV cases have risen from 40,000 annually to more than 56,000 annually. By requiring insurer coverage of routine HIV screening, this bill should go a long way in helping to break the chain of new infections by making HIV testing
'/>"/>