Delay on VA's HIV testing change

Even though the CDC advocated routine HIV testing for every person in America between the ages of 13 and 64 two years ago, the Veterans Administration until recently was prohibited by federal law from routine widespread testing.

That law was repealed last month, but the VA – the largest civilian health care organization in the country – still needs to change its internal regulations to implement the law. That is now under review before the Bush administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

OMB officials have told the VA that it may require a ``comment’’ period before implementation – a process that could take months, according to Dr. David Ross, VA’s director of clinicial public health programs. Ross said the VA hopes to avoid the drawn-out process, and would like to start routine testing as soon as possible.

Speaking at one of the side sessions at the summit, Ross said, ``Over 22,000 veterans are infected with HIV, and we’re still grappling with the fact that a lot of veterans out there are HIV positive and have not been diagnosed.’’

The VA has 5 million beneficiaries. The number tested for HIV last year: 100,000.

``We’ve got a long ways to go, but we are very committed to doing this,’’ Ross said, referring to expanding HIV testing for veterans.