New York Health Service Providers See Influx of Patients Testing for STDs Now that City Has Cut Funds

A move by New York City health officials to eliminate free, routine STD screenings has patients turning to other service providers in search of help.

Citing budget deficits, the city’s Department of Health in March cut funding for preventive chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis screening at 10 sites. Only those patients experiencing obvious symptoms will be tested. “The vast majority, more than 90 percent, of screening visits had no infection detected, yet cost the agency in excess of $400,000 a year,” a DOH statement said. City clinics continue to offer free, rapid HIV testing, it added.

“It’s definitely a step backwards in terms of our diagnosis and treatment of STDs,” said Dr. David Collymore, chief medical officer at the Claremont Family Health Center. “If we’re not testing as many people, we might not see an increase in the numbers but there will be an increase [in those contracting STDs].”

For patients without insurance, high out-of-pocket costs for screenings are an issue. “The problem is that testing for STDs is not federally subsidized,” said Dr. Linda Prine, director of women’s health at the Institute for Family Health, which has 17 sites across the Bronx, Manhattan, and the Mid-Hudson Valley. IFH uses laboratories like Quest Diagnostics to run the tests. Costs for uninsured patients can be as high as $100, said Quest spokesperson Wendy Bost. The company offers financial assistance programs for testing, but patients must contact Quest directly to determine eligibility.

“People have to pay whatever the laboratories set as the prices for the testing,” said Prine. “A lot of people just don’t come and get health care because they can’t even afford the sliding-scale payments.”

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!