State to Cut Payments for Anonymous HIV Testing : Health care: Clinics say reduction from $44 to $35 will hamper their efforts to meet soaring demand for tests and counseling.

At a time when the demand for HIV testing is soaring, the state has decided to reduce its payments to the South Bay’s major source of free, anonymous testing for the virus that causes AIDS.

Effective in January, the South Bay Free Clinic and other clinics offering anonymous testing have been told they will receive $35--not the $44 they now get--for each test they administer for HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus.

That is worrying clinic workers, who question how they can meet the needs of hundreds of anxious clients seeking HIV testing and counseling each month.

“We’re working at capacity levels now,” warned Stewart Sokol, director of HIV and AIDS services at the South Bay Free Clinic.

In a letter to the state, Sokol predicted that the changes mean “we will be short-staffed, overbooked and hard-pressed to afford additional clinic time, staff services and administrative costs.”

But a state AIDS official said that in light of the state’s financial crunch, the state cannot afford to pay for testing at the level of demand. Some of those seeking testing have health insurance, said Anna Ramirez, chief of the education and prevention services branch of the state AIDS office.

“We can’t afford to test everyone in California free,” Ramirez said.

However, Suzanne Rivera, executive director of the South Bay Free Clinic, said some clients may choose not to notify their insurance companies for fear that, if they are HIV-positive, they could lose their coverage.

Demand for testing has more than doubled at the South Bay clinic since Laker basketball star Earvin (Magic) Johnson disclosed 13 months ago that he is HIV-positive. More than 300 people are now tested at the clinic’s offices in Manhattan Beach and Gardena each month.

The news of Johnson’s HIV status created a surge of requests for tests at clinics statewide, forcing the state to pump extra money into the program for 1991-92. But the additional funds ended this summer.

The state currently reimburses clinics $44 per test, less than the $48 that the South Bay clinic reports it spends for testing and counseling.

In January, state reimbursement will drop to $35 per test. That rate will drop to only $25 if clients do not return to the clinic for test results; the rate will be $10 for clients who receive counseling but decline a test.

The three-tier system will create additional paperwork for the clinics and the state, said Diane Chamberlain, associate director at the Valley Community Clinic in North Hollywood, which performs 800 to 1,000 tests monthly.

The clinic cannot assure that clients come back for their results, Chamberlain added.

“It’s anonymous testing. We have no way of getting the people back--we have no idea who they are,” she said. Those seeking tests are assigned numbers and do not have to identify themselves by name.

Fully 92% of those who get tested at the South Bay clinic return for their results, Rivera said, and most clients who get counseling there also get tested.

Meanwhile, the cost of administering the tests has not decreased, clinic officials say.

“So the burden really falls on the providers to make up the difference to continue to offer the service,” Rivera said. She hopes to find more funds from other donors, such as foundations, corporations and individuals.

The cutbacks will affect clinics that provide free, anonymous testing to thousands of people monthly. Other clinics already are being paid at the rate of $35 and will not be affected.

Anonymous testing may attract people who know they have been exposed to the virus or who might otherwise not be tested, health officials said.

The change may mean that “clinics will not be able to spend quite as much time with each client,” said John Schunhoff, director of AIDS programs at the county Department of Health Services. But in light of the state’s budget woes, Schunhoff added, “There may not be any other alternative.”

Information about free, anonymous testing at the South Bay Free Clinic is available by calling (310) 376-3000.