Task Force Urges National HIV Testing

In a report last week, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (an independent group of national medical and health experts) called on health providers and insurers to begin testing all residents between the ages of 15 and 65 for HIV.  It also called for routine testing of all pregnant women.  New data shows that increased use of anti-retroviral medications can dramatically reduce HIV transmission rates.  The Task Force issued its highest recommendation, which also means that it wants providers and insurers to cover the testing at no cost to the patient.  That would include Medicaid and Medicare-based systems of care. The recommendation reflects a major shift away from the long-standing tendency towards targeted testing for populations disproportionately prone to HIV infection.  Experts for years have called the risk-based approach ineffective because it fails to diagnose large numbers of people.  The Task Force’s recommendations are currently open to public comment through December 17^th.