Kentucky committee approves names-based HIV reporting

The Kentucky house health and welfare committee last week unanimously approved a bill to require the state to track HIV cases by patient names, The [Louisville] Courier-Journal reports. The state already records HIV cases by using special codes, but lawmakers hope to change the system to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's preferred reporting method. State health officials hope names-based reporting will give the state "an edge" in obtaining federal AIDS funding from the CDC, said health commissioner Rice Leach during a hearing on the bill. AIDS activists in the state largely support the change. Krista Wood, executive director of the Heartland Clinic, had originally opposed names-based reporting over confidentiality concerns, but she changed her mind due to the financial implications of losing or receiving reduced federal funding.