SACRAMENTO – HIV tests could become a routine part of your annual physical, opening an important new chapter in the fight against AIDS, under a bill by Assemblywoman Patty Berg that was overwhelmingly approved in the Assembly Monday.

“More people will be tested,” said Berg, D-Eureka. “That means more people will seek treatment earlier, and fewer people will be spreading the virus.”

Assembly Bill 682 deletes a provision in existing law that requires patients to sign a special form before receiving a blood test for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Experts say this written form tends to discourage people from being tested.

While AB 682 makes it easier for doctors to test their patients, it still ensures that Californians have a right to decline the test.

The bill brings California in line with guidelines proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This bill is important as it will empower people, educate people, and provide them with opportunities for testing, counseling, support, and information,” said Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, who urged her fellow Republicans to support the bill.

Studies have shown that people with HIV often go undetected and untreated even when they are receiving medical care for other diseases.

Even as recently as 2004, 39 percent of HIV patients were unaware of their status until they were less than a year away from being diagnosed with full-blown AIDS.

“Too many people learn of their HIV status when they present themselves to a health care provider due to an illness, often too late to fully benefit from treatment,” said Joseph Terrill, public policy coordinator for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, co-sponsor of the bill.

“AB 682 will ensure more Californians get access to care and treatment, and interrupt their unwitting exposure of others,” Terrill added.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that more than one million Americans are living with HIV, but nearly 250,000 don’t know it. In California, the State Office of AIDS estimates that about 40,000 Californians don’t know they are carrying the virus.

"AB 682 strikes an important balance between protecting the rights of individual patients while removing outdated barriers to routine screening that will help us find those with undiagnosed HIV infection," said Anmol Mahal, MD, president of the California Medical Association, a co-sponsor of the bill. "The State Legislature should be strongly commended for overwhelmingly passing this practical, life-saving legislation.”

The bill has received tremendous support from statewide AIDS groups, doctors and public health officers in California. It received bipartisan support throughout the legislative process.

It now needs the governor’s signature to become law.

{mos_sb_discuss:2}