Oregon Threatened by Feds Demanding HIV Patient Info

It tramples on their right to privacy, and when we take away the rights of one American, we take away the rights of all Americans.

(Salem) - Oregon stands to lose $3-$4 million in federal HIV prevention money if state officials don`t start handing over the names of Oregon residents infected with HIV to the federal government.

Until now, the names of people with HIV were replaced with unique identifier codes to protect the privacy of the patient.

Public health officials in the Oregon Department of Human Services will hold administrative rules hearings in Bend, Eugene and Portland next month on proposed changes to the state's HIV reporting rules.

Those hearings are set for:

Bend: March 20th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in the Stan Owns Conference Room at the Deschutes County Health Department, 2577 NE Courtney Drive.

Eugene: March 22nd from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM in the Michael Rogers Room at Lane County Mental Health, 2411 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Portland: March 24th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM in Room 120B/C at the Portland State Office Building, 800 N.E. Oregon Street.

The revision will make HIV reporting consistent with other disease-reporting practices and will enhance HIV prevention efforts in Oregon, according to DHS health officials. But critics see it as a way for the federal government to gain the ability to potentially isolate and even someday intern or incarcerate people with HIV, and that DHS is simply caving in because they have no choice but to agree, so they don`t lose 30-40% of the federal funding they currently receive to fight HIV.

One HIV/AIDS advocate in Salem had this to say about the patients, `It tramples on their right to privacy, and when we take away the rights of one American, we take away the rights of all Americans."

Information about the proposed rule changes are on the Web at egov.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/hiv/data/news.shtml