State RegulationsMA specificDifficulty 2/5
An applicant for an individual health policy tests positive for HIV. Under 211 CMR 36.03, how must the insurer handle the test result?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why D is correct
211 CMR 36.03 treats HIV-related test information as confidential: the insurer must safeguard the result and may disclose it only in the limited ways the Massachusetts Division of Insurance regulation permits, such as to the applicant and within the tightly constrained uses the rule describes. Confidentiality is the counterpart of the informed-consent requirement — an applicant who consents to testing does not thereby consent to unrestricted dissemination of the outcome.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) Other clients have no permissible access to an applicant's HIV test information under 211 CMR 36.03.
- B) Confidential files are not public records; posting HIV results for inspection would directly violate the regulation's confidentiality protections.
- C) Routine marketing disclosure to other insurers is outside the narrow permitted uses under 211 CMR 36.03.
Memory hook
Consent opens the door, confidentiality guards it — HIV results travel on a need-to-know basis.