Jan 12, 2022
California has become the first state to require health insurance plans to cover at-home tests for sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, chlamydia, and syphilis. The law took effect January 1, 2022 for people with state-regulated private insurance plans.
SB 306 will expand access to STI testing and treatment through the following provisions:
- Requiring health plans to cover at-home test kits for HIV and STIs
- Increasing the number of providers that can provide STI testing
- Supporting expedited partner therapy, which allows patients to get STI treatment for their partners
- Requiring syphilis screening during the first and third trimester of pregnancy
Senator Dr. Richard Pan, who authored SB 306, said the new law will expand access to testing, increase access to STI treatment for patients and their partners, and update state law to boost congenital syphilis screening in the face of alarming increases in maternal-child transmission. He said that STI rates across the country have reached crisis levels. It’s gotten worse with an antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea spreading across the country.
