The New York state Legislature “should make it mandatory for health care workers to offer [HIV] testing” as proposed in a New York state bill (us/leg/?bn=A07757″ target=”_new”>A 7757), a Long Island Newsday editorial says (Long Island Newsday, 5/11). The legislation would require that people ages 18 to 64 be offered an HIV test in emergency departments, outpatient clinics and community health centers. The legislation also would eliminate written consent requirements and require the state to develop a standard form to be used by all health care providers (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/16).

“There’s no harm in offering to test every adult for HIV,” the editorial says, adding that the “harm is in not making the attempt.” The editorial continues that the measure would “reduce the stigma of HIV testing by making it routine” and by “requiring doctors to offer the test, explain its purpose, how it’s done and answer any questions, but then simply note in a patient’s chart whether the offer was accepted or rejected.” The legislation would “advance the critical public health objective here, which is to get people tested” (Long Island Newsday, 5/11).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Health officials announced recently that the number of newly recorded HIV cases among Iowans ages 15 to 24 increased by 45% in 2008 to 16, despite the widespread availability of condoms and other prevention methods, the dll/article?AID=2009905110323″ target=”_new”>Iowa Press-Citizen reports. In 2008, a total of 128 new HIV cases were reported, which is the highest number recorded since reporting began in 1998. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports that people ages 20 to 29 accounted for 25% of new cases in 2008.

According to the Press-Citizen, unsafe sexual practices among the state’s young adult population have contributed to the spread of HIV and the number of sexually transmitted infections. Jeff Meier, associate director of the AIDS Clinical Trial Unit at University Hospitals, said that most of the cases among young people are in the non-student population. “HIV tends to run in circles of poverty, drugs and commercial sex,” he said, adding, “There is obviously much less of that in the student population.” Meier added that promoting condom use is just a part of a necessary comprehensive prevention strategy.

Randy Mayer — chief of the Bureau of HIV, STD and Hepatitis at the department of public health — said that HIV testing at publicly funded sites in the state has decreased since 1992, although HIV prevalence has increased over the same time. For 10 years, about 30% of people in the state have reported ever receiving an HIV test. One reason young people might not be getting tested is a lack of information about cost and availability, the Press-Citizen reports. Tricia Kitzmann, deputy director of the Johnson County health department, said that she hopes to see an increase in testing as the department adheres more closely to state recommendations that encourage frequent HIV testing for the entire population, instead of only populations considered to be high-risk (Carney, Iowa Press-Citizen, 5/11).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

aspx?ReportId=84331″ target=”_new”>IRIN/Plus News on Monday examined services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe following an economic crisis in the country. According to IRIN/Plus News, HIV/AIDS programs have “weathered” the economic crisis better than other health programs because of support from donors such as the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation.

Most HIV-positive people who were receiving antiretroviral drugs before the economic crisis continued to receive the drugs during the crisis, although some doctors temporarily changed patients’ antiretroviral regimes because of low supplies. According to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, slightly less than half of the people estimated to be in need of antiretrovirals, or about 153,000 people, are receiving them. Health Minister Henry Madzorera said it is possible Zimbabwe could achieve universal HIV treatment next year. Although antiretroviral drugs are now available at no cost in most hospitals in the country, treatments for opportunistic infections and equipment to monitor HIV is often not available or too expensive, IRIN/Plus News reports.

During the economic crisis, many public clinics began charging fees to patients to compensate for low funding. The fees currently vary among facilities with some charging HIV-positive people about $10 for a consultation and others charging for tests that measure CD4 cell counts and for certain drugs that are not provided by donors. Madzorera said the health ministry plans to phase out user fees for HIV patients, children younger than age five and pregnant women and make fees for other services consistent among all facilities. In addition, the health ministry is working to improve supplies of medication and repair hospital equipment.

In addition, IRIN/Plus News reports that health workers, many of whom quit working during the crisis, are returning to work. The health workers are receiving a donor-funded allowance of $100 per month, but Madzorera said the government is expected to fund and gradually increase the allowances over the next year. “We’ve got 101 priorities, but the burning, immediate ones are the human resource issue. If we can get our health care workers back and remunerate them properly, that would be half the job done,” Madzorera said (IRIN/Plus News, 5/11).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.