Latest California Healthline Stories
Even When HIV Prevention Drug Is Covered, Other Costs Block Treatment
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that people who are at high risk of contracting HIV take PrEP, a preventive treatment. The decision means most health plans will be required to cover the drugs without charging patients. But the recommendation doesn’t apply to the other clinical and lab services people need.
Is It A Feminist Right To Want More Sex? One Company Thinks A Pill Is The Answer
The savvy “Right to Desire” campaign relies on feminist messages and social media to raise patient awareness about low libido. Addyi, the only drug currently approved to treat it, has shown limited effectiveness.
As Syphilis Invades Rural America, A Fraying Health Safety Net Is Failing To Stop It
Syphilis is spreading from big cities into rural counties across the Midwest and West. One Missouri clinic has seen more than six times as many cases in the first few months of 2019 compared with the same period last year. Communities grappling with budget cuts and crumbling public health infrastructure also lack experience in fighting the disease.
The High Cost Of Sex: Insurers Often Don’t Pay For Drugs To Treat Problems
Medicare and many private insurers view prescribing drugs to improve sexual function as a lifestyle issue that’s not medically necessary to pay for.
Trump Pledges To End HIV Transmission By 2030. Doable, But Daunting.
The president’s promise to eliminate HIV transmission within 10 years is a goal long sought by advocates, but it won’t be an easy undertaking. Eight counties in California are among those targeted by the new federal initiative.
An Underused Strategy For Surge In STDs: Treat Patients’ Partners Without A Doctor Visit
For over a decade, federal health officials have recommended the practice, known as expedited partner therapy. It is allowed in most states, but many doctors don’t do it — either because of legal or ethical concerns, or because they are unaware of it.
Family Doctors ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Curb STDs
As rates of sexually transmitted diseases surge, public health officials want primary care doctors to step up screening and treatment of patients.
The ‘Perfect Storm’: Redirecting Family Planning Funds Could Undercut STD Fight
Some public health officials fear that the Trump administration’s proposals to change how Title X funding is handled may impede the effort to cut the record number of sexually transmitted diseases.
California’s Deadly STD Epidemic Sets Record
Rates of gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia in California have shot up 45 percent over five years, resulting in 30 syphilis-related stillbirths in 2017 alone, new state data show.
Use Of HIV-Prevention Drug Grows, But Lags Among Non-Whites
The pill, known as PrEP, can reduce the risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS by 90 percent. Its use has expanded sharply in recent years — but primarily among a white demographic.