Georgia § 31-17A-4 - Pilot program for preexposure prophylaxis drug assistance or services.

§ 31-17A-4. Pilot program for preexposure prophylaxis drug assistance or services.

The department shall conduct a three-year pilot program for the purpose of providing preexposure prophylaxis drug assistance or services to persons who have tested negative for the HIV infection but who have risk factors that expose them to HIV. The pilot program shall be conducted in counties identified by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as at risk of outbreaks of HIV as a result of a high rate of opioid related use or in such other counties as determined by the department. In designing the pilot program, the department may obtain advisement and consultation from county health departments in counties in this state that have an existing preexposure prophylaxis drug assistance program or related services. The pilot program shall provide assistance for preexposure prophylaxis medications approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and for medical, laboratory, and outreach costs incurred in treatment. The department shall establish benchmark data at the beginning of the pilot program which shall be compared to data at the end of such pilot program to measure the effectiveness of such program. Participants in the pilot program shall be subject to clinical guidelines established by the department consistent with guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which may include, but not be limited to, regular HIV testing, education information, sexually transmitted infection testing, and supportive services. Education information may be provided in writing, orally, or both. The department shall be authorized to solicit and accept grants of funding or in-kind services for use in conducting the pilot program. The department is authorized to establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the pilot program. No later than December 31, 2022, the department shall submit a detailed written report on the implementation and effectiveness of the pilot program to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the chairpersons of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Such report shall also include recommendations as to expansion of the pilot program state-wide. (Code 1981, § 31-17A-4 , enacted by Ga. L. 2019, p. 199, § 1/HB 290.) Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2019, p. 199, § 2/HB 290, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Code section becomes effective only when funds are specifically appropriated for purposes of the Act in an Appropriations Act making specific reference to that Act. Funds were appropriated during the 2020 session of the General Assembly.