AB 521, as amended, Nazarian. HIV testing.
Existing law requires that every patient who has blood drawn at a primary care clinic, as defined, and who has consented to the test, be offered an HIV test that is consistent with the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for screening for HIV infection. Existing law specifies the manner in which the results of that test are provided.
This bill would, additionally, apply those provisions to a patient who has been admitted as an inpatient to a general acute care hospital through the emergency department and has blood drawn after being admitted to the hospital. The bill would specify that the emergency department is not responsible for offering the HIV test.begin insert The bill would authorize a hospital to offer the HIV test at any time during the patient’s admission. The bill would specify that these provisions do not prohibit a patient’s health plan from applying any patient cost share or other limitation that is authorized by law and included in the contract between the plan and the patient.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 120991 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
(a) A patient who either has blood drawn at a primary
4care clinic or who has been admitted as an inpatient to a hospital
5through the emergency department and has blood drawn after being
6admitted to thebegin delete hospital,end deletebegin insert hospital,end insert and who has consented to the
7HIV test pursuant to Section 120990, shall be offered an HIV test.
8The emergency department shall not be responsible for offering
9an HIV test.begin insert A hospital may offer an HIV test at any time during
10the patient’s admission to the hospital.end insert
The primary care or hospital
11clinician shall offer an HIV test consistent with the United States
12Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for screening
13HIV infection. This subdivision shall not apply if the primary care
14clinic or hospital has tested the patient for HIV or if the patient
15has been offered the HIV test and declined the test within the
16previous 12 months. Any subsequent testing of a patient who has
17been tested by the primary care clinic or hospital shall be consistent
18with the most recent guidelines issued by the United States
19Preventive Services Task Force.
20(b) HIV testing of minors 12 years of age or older shall comply
21with Section 6926 of the Family Code.
22(c) begin insertThis
section shall not prohibit a patient’s health plan from
23applying any patient cost share or other limitation that is allowed
24by law and included in the contract between the plan and the
25patient. end insertThis section shall not prohibit a primary care clinic or
26hospital from charging a patient to cover the cost of HIV testing.
27The primary care clinic or hospital shall be deemed to have
28complied with this section if an HIV test is offered.
29(d) A primary care clinic or hospital shall attempt to provide
30test results to the patient before he or she leaves the facility. If that
P3 1is not possible, the facility may inform the patient who tests
2negative for HIV by letter or by telephone, and shall inform a
3patient with a positive test result in a manner consistent with state
4law. However, in any case, the primary care clinic or hospital shall
5comply with
subdivision (h) of Section 120990.
6(e) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
7following meanings:
8(1) “Hospital” means a general acute care hospital as defined
9in subdivision (a) of Section 1250.
10(2) “Primary care clinic” means a primary care clinic as defined
11in subdivision (a) of Section 1204 or subdivision (g), (h), or (j) of
12Section 1206.
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