Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - Monday October 5, 1998
The Pennsylvania Health Department is determining how to implement a new system to track HIV infections. However, despite promises made by the current administration and Governor Ridge himself in 1994 to the contrary, the state is now proposing to mandate names reporting of people with HIV and AIDS, essentially creating a list of the names of people living in Pennsylvania with HIV.
According to Larry Hochendoner, Executive Director of the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, "Names reporting enables the system to violate the rights of people living with HIV. Without protection of their confidentiality people living with HIV continue to fear reprisals from the community at large based on their HIV status."
Speakers at today's press conference will include representatives from We the People living with HIV and AIDS (the region's largest coalition of people living with HIV and AIDS), ACT UP Philadelphia, the ACLU, Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives (PCHA), the Lehigh Valley HIV Support Group, and the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium. All of these organizations oppose name based reporting and are instead in support of a "unique identifier" system which will track the HIV epidemic with higher accuracy. These supporters are not alone; California, Massachusetts and Maryland have already adopted a unique identifier system, and Illinois will implement its unique identifier system in July, 1999.
Some public health officials argue that mandatory name reporting is the most reliable way to get newly diagnosed people into health care. However, AIDS activists do not agree. Instead, what is needed is more funds for drugs and treatment. Asia Russell of ACT UP explained, "Giving a list of names of people with HIV to Dan Hoffman isn't the same as funding more slots for medical assistance."
In fact, studies show that mandatory HIV names reporting actually reduces the number of people who seek testing. Jose DeMarco, HIV activist and member of ACT UP explained, "forced names reporting for HIV means that many people will avoid testing altogether because they don't want to risk their safety, the safety of loved ones, or their jobs -- not to mention their privacy. HIV is still a heavily stigmatized illness."
SOURCE: Philadelphia AIDS Consortium
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