AIDS Policy Is Opposed in Connecticut

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http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/nyregion/10AIDS.html

 

December 10, 2001

AIDS Policy Is Opposed in Connecticut

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GREENWICH, Conn., Dec. 9 — Advocates for AIDS patients in Connecticut are opposing a state policy intended to track the illness by requiring that names of HIV-positive residents be reported to the state's health department.

Darlene Fassett, an outreach coordinator for Stamford Positive Peers, an AIDS counseling service, said that many residents would refuse tests if they could not count on privacy.

Beginning in January, the State Department of Public Health will require that names be included with reported cases unless a patient requests a which is mix of numbers and letters instead of a name.

The policy is Connecticut's response to a federal requirement that all states develop HIV tracking in 2002 or lose federal money for AIDS prevention and treatment for low-income patients, said Aaron Roome, director of the state's HIV/AIDS Surveillance Program.

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