Medicare and Medicaid may soon cover the cost of testing for sexually transmitted diseases. This is one part of a new initiative to expand the coverage of preventative health care. This coverage will be beneficial to the elderly, the disabled, and the pregnant women who are using Medicare or Medicaid health insurance.
It is very important to have good health. In general, people who are in good health feel good, live longer, and are more able to actively participate in their lives than people who are sick. One of the things a person can do in order to stay healthy is to see a doctor for regular checkups. A doctor can recommend preventative care that will help a person continue to stay as healthy as possible. Preventative care can include screenings for particular diseases, and be used to help doctors decide on a course of treatment. Some diseases are infectious, which means they can be spread to other people. It is possible to have an infectious disease and not be aware of it, which increases the chance of spreading it to another person. Regular screenings for contagious diseases is one way to prevent the spread of those diseases in the general population.
From the viewpoint of a health insurance company, preventative care costs much less than it would cost to treat a person for an unchecked disease, illness, or disorder, that may include complications due to the amount of time it has gone untreated. They can save themselves some money down the road if they cover the cost of preventative care, regular checkups, and screenings for disease.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are considering expanding these national health insurance programs to include coverage of exams for sexually transmitted disease (STD). People are living longer, and research shows that more older people are remaining sexually active than in previous generations. Pregnant women, who are included in Medicare’s disabled beneficiaries, are a group that is considered to be high risk for sexually transmitted diseases, which makes sense if you consider the affect an STD may have on a baby. These groups could benefit from having the cost of exams for STDs covered by their health care program.
In 2009, CMS was granted the power to include coverage for preventative services. They currently cover the cost of pap smears, pelvic exams, and screening test for colorectal cancer and diabetes. They are considering adding coverage for more testing. For pregnant women, this includes testing for the hepatitis B virus infection, the gonorrhea infection, or the chlamydial infection.
It could also include the coverage of testing for chlamydial infection for sexually active or pregnant women younger than age 24, or for older women who are sexually active or pregnant and are considered to be at higher risk. It may include testing for gonorrhea for all sexually active women of any age, and testing for syphilis for all who are at an increased risk. The are also considering adding coverage for “high-intensity behavioral counseling” designed to prevent sexually active adolescents (or adults who considered to be at risk), from becoming infected with an STD.
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