§ 14137.6

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and subject to federal financial participation, covered services under this chapter shall include, subject to utilization controls, medically necessary inpatient and outpatient services associated with the administration of any drug that has been classified by the department or the Food and Drug Administration as having treatment Investigational New Drug (IND) status, when the drug is being administered for the treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), AIDS-related complex (ARC), or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), to otherwise eligible persons.

(b) The department shall adopt emergency regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section. The adoption of the regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, emergency regulations adopted by the department in order to implement this section shall not be subject to the review and approval of the Office of Administrative Law. These regulations shall become effective immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State.

(c) No part of this section shall be construed to require the department to pay for the cost of treatment IND drugs provided for research purposes by pharmaceutical companies or any other sponsors at no cost.

(d) Payment for care to any Medi-Cal eligible HIV infected person in need of treatment shall not be denied solely on the basis of the use of a drug having treatment IND status.

(e) When medically feasible, every effort shall be made to administer drugs having treatment IND status on an outpatient basis.

(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1197, Sec. 2.)