State Rep. Betty Price, MD, R-Rosewell, and wife of former HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, asked state health officials last week if individuals who identify as HIV positive could be legally quarantined, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The House Study Committee on Georgian's Barriers to Access to Adequate Healthcare met Oct. 17 to discuss the prevalence and spread of HIV statewide and the public health implications of a state law criminalizing potential HIV exposure. Dr. Price, who sits on the committee, asked Pascale Wortley, MD, director of HIV epidemiology section of the Georgia Department of Public Health, about possible methods to prevent the spread of HIV.
"I don’t want to say the quarantine word, but I guess I just said it," Dr. Price said during the meeting, according to the report. "Is there an ability, since I would guess that public dollars are expended heavily in prophylaxis and treatment of this condition? … What would you advise or are there any methods legally that we could do that would curtail the spread?”
Georgia maintains the second-highest rate of new HIV infections in the nation. The statistic continues to rise because more than one-third of HIV positive residents do not receive care for the condition, according to the report.
In a statement to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution Saturday, Dr. Price said, "I made a provocative and rhetorical comment as part of a free-flowing conversation which has been taken completely out of context. I do not support a quarantine in this public health challenge and dilemma of undertreated HIV patients. I look forward to continuing to work with all to accomplish this goal."
To read Dr. Price's full statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here.