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New state law is removing a testing barrier for an infectious disease many people don't even know they have.
Signed by Gov. Deval Patrick on Friday, "An Act Increasing Screening for HIV" deletes the requirement that patients provide written consent to have an HIV test. Instead, patients will need only to give verbal consent to have an HIV test.
Between 25,000 and 27,000 Massachusetts residents are estimated to be living with HIV or AIDS, according to a news release from the Patrick administration. But about 21 percent of them — or more than one in five — don't realize they're infected, the release says, while citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
