VA comment ltr 1.28.09 [FINAL]

January 28, 2009 BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION Director Regulations Management (02REG) Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Ave., NW, Room 1068 Washington, DC 20420 Fax #: 202-273-9026 Re: Department of Veterans Affairs Proposed Rule – RIN 2900-AN20; “Elimination of Requirements for Prior Signature Consent and Pre- and Post-Test Counseling for HIV Testing” Dear Director: These comments on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Proposed Rule amending HIV testing patient protections, RIN 2900-AN20, are submitted on behalf of Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the many individuals with HIV whom they represent, including those in the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) system of care. The organizations submitting these comments have a long history of advocating for the interests of people with HIV/AIDS and ensuring their concerns are part of the public policy discussions on this issue. When a government entity proposes to eliminate a patient protection that also can be characterized as a civil and human right, the burden is on the agency to show that the elimination is necessary. That burden has not been met here, and in fact the best evidence suggests that maintaining the VA’s patient protections of voluntary informed consent will also serve individual and public health, provided that the regulations are amended to clearly ...