2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 17b-256. (Formerly Sec. 17-314m). Payment for prevention and treatment of AIDS or HIV. Regulations.

      Sec. 17b-256. (Formerly Sec. 17-314m). Payment for prevention and treatment of AIDS or HIV. Regulations. The Commissioner of Social Services may administer, within available appropriations, a program providing payment for the cost of drugs prescribed by a physician for the prevention or treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection). The commissioner shall determine specific drugs to be covered and may implement a pharmacy lock-in procedure for the program. The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the purposes of this section. The commissioner may implement the program while in the process of adopting regulations, provided notice of intent to adopt the regulations is published in the Connecticut Law Journal within twenty days of implementation. The regulations may include eligibility for all persons with AIDS or HIV infection whose income is below four hundred per cent of the federal poverty level. The commissioner shall, within available federal resources, purchase and maintain insurance policies for eligible clients, including, but not limited to, coverage of costs associated with such policies, that provide a full range of HIV treatments and access to comprehensive primary care services as determined by the commissioner and as provided by federal law, and may provide payment, determined by the commissioner, for (1) drugs and nutritional supplements prescribed by a physician that prevent or treat opportunistic diseases and conditions associated with AIDS or HIV infection; (2) ancillary supplies related to the administration of such drugs; and (3) laboratory tests ordered by a physician.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-8, S. 44, 63; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; 93-418, S. 14, 41; P.A. 96-238, S. 16, 25; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 6, 72; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4, S. 9, 58; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 49.)

      History: P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of income maintenance, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-418 made the program subject to available appropriations, expanded the program to include prescription drugs for the prevention and treatment of AIDS, ARC or HIV, deleting specific reference to AZT and requiring the commissioner to specify the drugs to be covered, required the commissioner to adopt regulations and allowed the commissioner to implement the program while in the process of adopting regulations, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17-314m transferred to Sec. 17b-256 in 1995; P.A. 96-238 authorized payment for drugs, nutritional supplements and ancillary supplies and laboratory tests prescribed or ordered by a physician for the prevention or treatment of opportunistic diseases and conditions associated with AIDS or HIV infection, effective July 1, 1996; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 added provisions allowing regulations to include eligibility for persons with income below four hundred per cent of the federal poverty level and allowing commissioner to purchase and maintain insurance policies with specified coverage, effective July 1, 1999; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4 deleted provision re AIDS-related complex (ARC) and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2001; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 changed "commissioner may, within available appropriations, purchase and maintain insurance polices for eligible clients," to "commissioner shall, within available federal resources, purchase and maintain insurance policies for eligible clients," effective August 15, 2002.