LANSING — A Michigan Senate panel heard testimony Wednesday about a controversial piece of legislation which would eliminate the current requirement that patients provide written, informed consent to receive an HIV test.

“This is unusual and not in keeping with what we do for other tests or other procedures and the public health community has suggested we modify that to be in line with CDC guidelines,” said Sen. Tom George, a Republican from Kalamazoo County’s Texas Township. George, a physician and sponsor of the bill is also a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor in 2010.

Currently, Michigan law mandates that individuals being tested for HIV sign a consent form before the test is administered. George called the law outdated, and painted his legislation as a move to “modernize” testing.

But others do not agree with George’s assessment, arguing the way the legislation is written now, patients may find themselves being tested without an understanding of the potential impact of a positive result.

“I think this bill is well intentioned,” said Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender project. “But you’re leaving out a very, very important thing: the ability and taking the time to make sure the patient understands exactly what they are going to go through. Merely handing them a sheet, a form or a pamphlet along with many other medical forms without taking the time if they have questions to make sure they understand is not what we consider truly informed consent.”

Sen.Bruce Patterson, a Republican from Canton, also expressed concerns about the legislation. He said the issue of stigma was “very troublesome” when it came to HIV, and noted the issue was about balancing rights.

“What someone might call a barrier,” Patterson said at the end of exchange with George, “another person might call a safeguard.”

That comment came after George said current law mandating a signed consent form was a barrier to some doctors performing the test.

“We’re not testing enough people,” George said. “Some doctors might say, ‘I won’t bother [with the informed consent form], that’s too much fiddle-faddle. So we don’t do the test. So we miss someone, and maybe they infect someone else. That’s the thing we’re trying to remedy here.”

Patterson shot back: “Is that the doctor who has pledged to do no harm? That’s too much fiddle-faddle?”

George said the legislation is meant to eliminate paper in the medical files, and streamline testing.

Kaplan said the ACLU favored the legislation, if amendments are made to address education and create full informed consent with testing.

Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids filed a document with the Senate Health Police Committee saying it supported the legislation as it was, while Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak said it would support the legislation with the ACLU amendments. The Michigan Health and Hospital Association also testified it supported the legislation.

In a new twist, Brenda Lawson, legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Community Health, said the department supported the change, saying the current law “breeds obstacles to HIV testing.”

But the department’s position has evolved.

“We feel [the CDC recommendations] can be implemented successfully in the state without changing the law,” said Debra Szwedja, acting director of the MDCH’s Division of Health, Wellness and Disease Control in 2007. That statement was made as part of a piece Michigan Messenger did exploring implementation of new CDC guidelines which recommend routine HIV testing for all persons ages 13-64. Representatives from the department had continued to say Szwedja’s comments remained the official stance of the department.

Mark Peterson, director from Michigan POZ Action Coalition, testified in opposition to the legislation and was joined by the AIDS Partnership of Michigan.

“HIV hasn’t been modernized,” Peterson told the panel, taking a jab at George’s earlier claim the legislative change was directed at modernizing HIV testing in Michigan. “We deserve better in Michigan.”