SF 1075

1st Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; limiting use of health information 
  1.3             secured as part of HIV vaccine research for insurance 
  1.4             underwriting; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.5             section 72A.20, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 72A.20, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 29a.  [HIV TESTS; VACCINE RESEARCH.] (a) No insurer 
  1.10  regulated under chapter 61A or 62B, or providing health, 
  1.11  medical, hospitalization, or accident and sickness insurance 
  1.12  regulated under chapter 62A, or nonprofit health services 
  1.13  corporation regulated under chapter 62C, health maintenance 
  1.14  organization regulated under chapter 62D, or fraternal benefit 
  1.15  society regulated under chapter 64B, may: 
  1.16     (1) make an underwriting decision, cancel, fail to renew, 
  1.17  or take any other action with respect to a policy, plan, 
  1.18  certificate, or contract based solely on a person's 
  1.19  participation in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine 
  1.20  clinical trial; or 
  1.21     (2) except as provided under paragraph (b), request, 
  1.22  obtain, or use HIV antibody tests performed on a participant for 
  1.23  purposes of a vaccine clinical trial. 
  1.24     (b) If a test to determine the presence of the HIV antibody 
  1.25  is performed at the insurer's direction as part of the insurer's 
  2.1   normal underwriting requirements, and an applicant or covered 
  2.2   person is a participant in a vaccine clinical trial and tests 
  2.3   positive for the HIV antibody in the insurer-directed test, the 
  2.4   person shall disclose their status as a participant in a vaccine 
  2.5   clinical trial and provide the insurance company with 
  2.6   certification from the trial sponsor of the person's 
  2.7   participation in the vaccine trial.  Upon notification, an 
  2.8   insurer shall stay any adverse decision or refrain from making 
  2.9   an underwriting decision to cancel, fail to renew, or take any 
  2.10  other action based solely on the positive test result until the 
  2.11  insurer obtains a confidential certificate from the sponsor of 
  2.12  the trial verifying the person's HIV status. 
  2.13     (c) Except as provided under paragraph (b), this 
  2.14  subdivision does not affect tests conducted for purposes other 
  2.15  than those described in paragraph (a), clause (2), including any 
  2.16  test to determine the presence of the HIV antibody if such test 
  2.17  was performed at the insurer's direction as part of the 
  2.18  insurer's normal underwriting requirements.  This subdivision 
  2.19  does not apply to individuals who take the test described in 
  2.20  paragraph (a), clause (2), but do not become a participant in 
  2.21  the vaccine clinical trial for which they were tested. 
  2.22     (d) For purposes of this subdivision, "vaccine clinical 
  2.23  trial" means a clinical trial conducted by a sponsor under an 
  2.24  investigational new drug application as provided by Code of 
  2.25  Federal Regulations, title 21, section 312.  "Sponsor" means the 
  2.26  hospital, clinic, or health care professional that is conducting 
  2.27  the vaccine clinical trial.