(a) The Legislature finds and declares that therapeutic monitoring is necessary to make appropriate life-prolonging and cost-effective treatment decisions in the management of HIV disease.
(b) The Director of the Office of AIDS may provide funding for the coverage of therapeutic monitoring assays for HIV disease through the State HIV Therapeutic Monitoring Program.
(c) (1) The purpose of the program under this chapter shall be to provide the therapeutic assays for HIV-positive people who could not otherwise afford them.
(2) The scope of the program shall be determined by the federal and state guidelines for standards of HIV care and availability of funding.
(3) Priority for funding under the State HIV Therapeutic Monitoring Program shall be given to the state-funded Early Intervention Program sites.
(d) Therapeutic monitoring under this chapter shall include, but not be limited to, viral load and resistance assays.
(e) Coverage awards shall be made to counties on the basis of need. The determination of awards shall be made by the Office of AIDS, depending on the availability of state and federal funding for the program. Counties may cover those assays that are determined to be necessary and are not covered under the state program.
(Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 230, Sec. 11. Effective August 11, 2003.)