STD Testing Cost

• For patients covered by health insurance, tests sometimes are done at no charge to the patient. If not, typical out-of-pocket expenses consist of a laboratory copay of $10 to $30 per test.
• For patients not covered by health insurance, STD tests done at a doctor's office usually cost $50 to $200 each, depending on the test. For patients who do not want to visit a doctor for testing, perhaps because they do not want the testing and results to become part of their permanent medical record, private STD testing companies that do not accept health insurance offer testing for about $50 to $150 per test, depending on the disease, or a package of seven to 10 STD tests, including HIV, for about $300 to $400.
• Free or discounted STD testing can be obtained at many clinics. Students usually can obtain discounted STD testing at their university health center.
• For HIV, a Home Access test kit, the only brand approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but generally is not reimbursed by health insurance, usually costs between $45 and $60. With this test, you collect a blood sample at home, then mail it to a laboratory and speak to a counselor on the phone to get your results.
• Many insurance plans cover tests for some STDs as part of a yearly or routine wellness exam, or for high-risk patients, such as those with multiple partners, or if ordered by a doctor as a result of symptoms.

• For an HIV test, which is now recommended as part of routine medical care for pregnant women or anyone aged 13 to 64, a health care worker will take a blood sample or swab the mouth, depending on the type of test being used. The sample is then tested for antibodies to the HIV virus. Because false positives are possible, any positive result must be confirmed with a different type of test, called a Western blot test.
• For gonorrhea and chlamydia tests, either a urine sample or a swab of fluid from the affected area of the body is taken and tested for gonorrhea antigens or DNA. WebMD has overviews of the gonorrhea test and chlamydia test. Routine gonorrhea testing is recommended for pregnant , people with multiple partners, or when symptoms are present.
• For syphilis, routine testing is recommended for pregnant women, people with multiple partners; or when symptoms like open sores are present A blood sample or fluid from a chancre usually are used, but spinal fluid also can be used. WebMD has an overview of a syphilis test.
• For genital herpes, a fluid sample is taken from a sore on the genitals, or a blood test is performed. However, a blood test cannot differentiate between genital and oral herpes, so most patients would get a herpes test after having symptoms -- usually blisters that break and become open sores. WebMD has an overview of a genital herpes test.
• For genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, there is no overall HPV test. Genital warts are diagnosed visually, and women who have had cervical cell changes identified by a PAP test can be tested to see if they have a high-risk type of HPV that can make them more likely to get cancer. WebMD has an overview of the HPV test.

• With HIV testing, a "window period" of three to six months applies. If you have had unprotected sex within that time period, but receive a negative result, you will have to be retested for a definitive result. Other STDs have incubations periods as well. STDResource.com offers information about window or incubation periods for various STDs.
• A doctor's visit could add $80 to $200, or a doctor's visit copay of $10 to $30 for those covered by health insurance.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers an STD testing site locator by zip code, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for a referral. Many of the sites listed are clinics that offer free or discounted testing. And Planned Parenthood, which offers a sliding scale based on income, also has a clinic locator.

• Your doctor or gynecologist can recommend which STDs you should be tested for, based on your sex, age and sexual activity or symptoms. Or, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidelines.
• If getting tested for HIV, decide ahead of time what kind of testing you want. For HIV, both confidential and anonymous testing are available at clinics in most states. In confidential testing, you give your name and contact information at the testing site and, if you test positive, the results usually are reported to the state health department for disease-tracking purposes. In anonymous testing, you receive a patient number, so the clinic staff does not know or have any record of your name.
• StateHealthFacts.org shows which states offer anonymous HIV testing. Also, both standard testing, for which the results can take up to two weeks, and rapid testing, for which the results take about 20 minutes, usually are available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides definitions of anonymous, confidential, standard and rapid testing.
• For even more privacy, an at-home HIV collection kit can be used to obtain a sample and send it to a laboratory for testing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides information about Home Access, the only FDA-approved at-home collection kit, which can be purchased through the company's website or at pharmacies, including Walgreens and CVS.
• Private companies, such as Private MD Lab Testing and STD Testing Now offer anonymous STD testing in which the patient is identified only by a number; you can order the test online and then make a 15-minute visit to a testing center to give blood or urine samples.

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