Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed into law “An Act to Increase Routine Screening of HIV.” This new law allows verbal consent for HIV tests; it replaces the need for written consent before a test can be administered. About 25,000 to 27,000 people are living with HIV in Massachusetts, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 21 percent of them don’t know their status. AIDS Action Committee president and CEO Rebecca Haag said that the new law will expand HIV testing, which will help identify those undiagnosed people and get them treated and into care.

To read the AIDS Action Committee statement, click here.