California to Cover Cost of HIV Screening

CALIFORNIA: "California to Cover Cost of Screening for HIV"
New York Times (10.02.08):: Rebecca Cathcart

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday signed AB 1894 into law, California came closer than any other state to making HIV testing a routine part of health care, as recommended by CDC in 2006. Authored by Assembly member Paul Krekorian (D), the measure requires private health insurance companies in the state to cover the cost of HIV testing "regardless of whether the testing is related to a primary diagnosis."

At present, health care providers must use certain codes on insurance forms in order for the cost of testing to be covered. "I do get letters from time to time from insurance providers asking what justified the use of this code," said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone of the University of California-San Francisco. Removing the need for a doctor to justify ordering an HIV test will remove a key barrier to testing, he said.

Covering the almost $30 cost of an HIV test will encourage more providers to recommend it, agreed Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He noted that routine testing is the most effective way to reduce ongoing transmission of HIV.

An earlier version of the bill would have required MediCal, the state's public insurance provider, to cover routine HIV testing as well. Weinstein acknowledged, however, that the California's deficit and protracted budget crisis made requiring additional payments by the state plan a tough sell.

The requirement takes effect Jan. 1, 2009, and will affect 22.19 million people, according to the California Health Benefits Review Program.

The law is another important step toward routine testing in California, which last year dropped the requirement that hospital patients give written consent before being tested for HIV.