Most people in California are eligible for some kind of health coverage, Mills said, and asking about it provides an opportunity to connect patients to coverage and other care. Tony Mills, chief executive of the Men’s Health Foundation, which also contracts with the county. The county agency said it was too early to tell whether it is spending less on testing, but it expects insurers to pick up more costs over time. Nearly 12,000 tests were reported to the county between January and March - a similar volume to the past - and the department believes the total amount of testing by community groups is likely higher because some are not being reported to the county. County Public Health said its early data suggest STD testing has not fallen this year compared with last. particularly among the most vulnerable groups and young people.” “It’s going to come back and bite them,” Klausner said. Jeffrey Klausner, a USC Keck School of Medicine professor and formerly an STD prevention director in San Francisco, was nonetheless concerned by the county’s move, calling it “a penny saved, a pound foolish.” County Public Health said it was backing that bill and “exploring as many models as possible to reduce the impact of health insurance screening,” including the use of technology to smooth the process.ĭr. And clients who are “underinsured” may get stuck with a bill later, he said, and decide to stop getting regularly tested.Ĭalifornia lawmakers are considering legislation, Assembly Bill 1645, that would prohibit insurance plans from imposing out-of-pocket costs for recommended screenings for sexually transmitted diseases. Such privacy concerns could also affect people who are insured through a spouse, Carpenter said. Ward Carpenter, chief health officer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said health providers want people to get tested regularly even if they have no symptoms, and “the harder that is, the more barriers that are in place, the less likely people are to do that.”Īmong the concerns: Young adults who are on the health plans of their parents may not want to hand over insurance information, fearing their tests could show up in paperwork seen by their families. County have been infected with syphilis in the womb, which can lead to stillbirth, neurological problems, blindness and other conditions.ĭr. California The number of babies infected with syphilis was already surging.
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