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Comment by hn_throwaway_99 | Hacker News Reader

Wow, this is really fascinating to me. The article touches on this, but PrEP has to be having a huge impact. PrEP is now the default basically for young gay men, at least in urban settings. Plus, since gay men are more likely to know their status, they're more likely to be on treatment allowing "U=U" to be a thing: undetectable equals untransmittable.

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Also, generally being on PrEP involves a full run of STI testing including HIV quarterly. I would imagine that most straight people do not get tested for STIs as regularly.

Heck, most people don't see their doctor for any reason quarterly in the US.

Agree heterosexuals don’t get tested as often for STIs (humans are terrible at quantifying risk). Really needs to be a part of an annual metabolic panel you’d have performed alongside a physical. You’re already doing the blood draw, just order the tests and grab an additional vial. If you’re sexually active with multiple partners, quarterly, regardless of orientation/preferences.

Right.

For PrEP they require a blood draw anyways to check creatinine levels since it can indicate side effects involving the kidneys, so you may as well draw blood for everything else too.

You also need to continue testing for HIV because it is easy to take prep wrong and miss tablets.

Who sees a doctor quarterly? Much less gets quarterly panels? My super premium insurance wouldn’t even cover annual pannels (only one every 2 years) when I was under 30

Haven't seen a doctor in at least 10 years (not counting dental and eye care).

Bit of a tangent, but I encourage you to at least check your blood-pressure occasionally. Hypertension is called "the silent killer" for a reason.

You don't need to see a doctor, in many places you can get STI tests at a clinic or blood lab.

I think a test ("proscribed" online) was over $200 for a basic panel and Qwest or Labcorp almost didn't want to accept it because it wasn't from a local doctor. I just had my yearly physical (after not going for a few years) and the basic blood panel not including stds was $500 total and only 300 was covered by a fortune 500 company insurance. The cost is prohibitive. Though I have a feeling women get the test for free possibly?

Definitely not my experience. Decent US insurance, my annual physical, metabolic panel, and STI screen is free.

For those in your situation, Planned Parenthood might be an option for reduced or no cost STI screening.

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