Obama Administration Disappoints on AIDS with Latest Roadblocks to Routine Screening
On Eve of National HIV Testing Day, CMS Letter Reminds State Health Providers of 2006 CDC Recommendations for Routine HIV Screening, But Stops Short of Mandating Coverage
June 25, 2009
On the eve of National HIV Testing Day, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation’s largest AIDS organization, today expressed its disappointment at the federal government’s failure to implement routine HIV screening, despite a 2006 recommendation issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to do so. AHF’s statement is in response to a June 24th letter sent by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addressed to State Health Officials reminding them that HIV testing is covered under certain aspects of the federal law for children and adults, but stops short of mandating it to the states as a covered benefit for prevention and screening purposes. AHF calls on the Obama administration to step up its efforts to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to prioritize the implementation of routine HIV testing nationwide.
“This CMS ‘reminder’ letter is another unfortunate example of the failure of the federal government to mount an effective response to the U.S. HIV/AIDS epidemic,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “The CDC recommended routine HIV screening for all adults and adolescents ages 13-24 in 2006. Now—three years later—it is still being left up to the states to decide if they want to choose the option of covering routine screening. This despite the fact that 25% of the 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are estimated to be unaware of their HIV-positive status and may be unknowingly passing on the infection to others. We call on the Obama Administration to put a halt to such unnecessary bureaucratic roadblocks to the implementation of routine HIV testing and to respond to the HIV/AIDS with the urgency required by this growing national epidemic.”
For information about AHF’s “Change AIDS Obama” campaign, please visit: www.changeAIDSobama.org.
