Private MD News

States see rise in STDs as funding for prevention dwindles

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

States across the country are cutting preventative measures aimed at helping people avoid contracting sexually transmitted disease in order to balance their budgets. While this may enable legislatures to get their financial houses in order, it may also be causing a rise in positive STD tests.

Healthcare providers throughout New York recently told the Daily News they are seeing an influx of people who are receiving positive STD testing. In many cases, they say individuals were unable to afford preventative treatments, which the state formerly provided for free.

"A lot of people just don't come and get healthcare because they can't even afford the sliding-scale payments," Linda Prine, director of women's health at the Institute for Family Health, told the news source. "People will come in with an obvious symptom and it sounds like they have gonorrhea and they'll say, 'Can't you just give me the medicine?'"

She added that these types of cases are becoming more common, as the state has seen a dramatic rise in gonorrhea cases ever since funding for prevention programs was cut.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that regular STD testing - particularly among high-risk groups - is the best way to prevent the spread of infections.