Proposed Texas Law Would Require Doctors To Offer HIV Tests To Patients

Texas lawmakers are proposing a bill that would require doctors in Texas to offer their patients an HIV test. Under the proposed Senate bill, patients would retain the option to decline the test. The cost of the test averages about $25 and would be covered under the bill by existing health plans, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Texas already requires testing for ingoing and outgoing inmates in Texas prisons, and for pregnant women.

More than 62,000 Texans are HIV positive. A disproportionate number of these cases occur among African-Americans, more than four times the infection rate among whites. Texas ranks fourth among states in the number of HIV cases.

The proposed law was offered last week as part of the 81st Texas Legislative Session.