A Texas insurer receives a positive HIV antibody test result for an applicant who signed the required consent form. Under the Texas rules governing AIDS-related information, to whom may the insurer release the result without the separate written authorization of the person tested?

Why A is correct

Under 28 TAC 21.705, HIV test results and other AIDS-related information are confidential; an insurer may release them to the person tested and to those the person has expressly authorized in writing, and not otherwise. The prohibition reaches the agent who wrote the business and the employer sponsoring the coverage, so an agent who asks the insurer for a positive result should be told the result cannot be disclosed, and the agent should deal only with the applicant's authorization.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) The writing agent is not a permitted recipient; 28 TAC 21.705 keeps the result from the agent even though the agent solicited the application.
• C) An employer is never an authorized recipient of test results under 28 TAC 21.705, and disclosing the result to the employer would also breach the applicant's privacy rights.
• D) A physician named in the application is not automatically entitled to the result; the person tested must authorize the release in writing.

Memory hook

The result belongs to the person tested, release it only as they direct in writing.