HIV Prevention Act of 1997

The HIV Prevention Act of 1997 bill was introduced to the United States House of Representatives on March 13, 1997 as H.R. 1026 by Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma). A companion bill was introduced to the U.S. Senate as S. 503 by Don Nickles (R-Oklahoma). The bill was not adopted because of widespread medical privacy concerns.

The act proposed the following amendments to the Social Security Act:

all positive HIV test results would be reported to a state public health officer for statistical purposes but also to enable a program of partner notification
a partner notification program that would inform individuals who may have been at risk of being infected by an individual with positive test results, whether through sexual contact or sharing of drug paraphernalia such as hypodermic needles
defendants in rape cases would be tested within 48 hours of an indictment, with the results of the test being made available to everyone involved and available for use in court
health professionals and people working for a funeral home would be able to require an HIV test before performing their services
health insurance issuers would be entitled to see the results of an HIV test at their request
adoptive parents would be entitled to see the HIV test results of a child before completing the final stages of the adoption process
health professionals with an HIV infection would be required to inform patients of their HIV status where there was a risk of infection