Body · Preventive care

Birth control and STI testing, privately

Birth control and STI testing are routine care. Most plans cover birth control without a copay at in-network providers. Title X clinics are confidential and serve you regardless of ability to pay, and you can ask your insurer to send paperwork to you, not to a parent.

Easy15 min to find a clinicOften free or low-costChecked October 3, 2026

You'll need

Your ZIP code
Your insurance card, if you're using it
A private phone number or email for results

What to know

Find testing near you. Search by ZIP at gettested.cdc.gov. If you're not comfortable talking to your regular provider, many clinics offer confidential and free or low-cost testing. Source: CDC¹
Know what's covered. Marketplace plans and many others must cover preventive services without a copay, including HIV screening for everyone 15 to 65 and syphilis screening for adults at higher risk, Source: HealthCare.gov⁴ plus chlamydia screening for younger women and gonorrhea screening for women at higher risk. Source: HealthCare.gov³
Birth control: Marketplace plans must cover FDA-approved methods and counseling for women, as prescribed, without a copay or coinsurance from an in-network provider, even before you meet your deductible. Source: HealthCare.gov²
Want it kept quiet or can't pay? Look for a Title X family planning clinic. Title X services are voluntary, confidential and provided regardless of ability to pay. Source: HHS⁵ They offer birth control, pregnancy testing and STI services. Source: HHS⁵
On a parent's plan? The insurer usually mails the EOB to the policyholder. You can ask the plan to send your health information to a different address or by a different method. A health plan must agree to a reasonable request if you say that sharing it could endanger you. Source: 45 CFR 164.522⁶
At the visit, be honest about your sexual history and ask which tests you should get. Source: CDC¹ Ask how and when you'll get results, and give a private phone number or email.
Test positive for something? Get treated, and follow the clinic's advice about telling partners and retesting.

Watch out A religious-employer plan may not cover birth control. Health plans sponsored by certain exempt religious employers, like churches, don't have to cover contraceptive methods and counseling. Source: HealthCare.gov² A Title X clinic is still an option.

Booking a confidential visit

Hi, I'd like to make an appointment for [birth control / STI testing]. Is the visit confidential? What will it cost if I don't use insurance? Can you contact me only at this number?

Asking your insurer to send paperwork to you

Hi, I'm a member on [policyholder]'s plan, member ID [number]. I'm requesting confidential communications: please send my explanations of benefits and other health information to [address / email] instead of the policyholder's address. Sending it to the policyholder could endanger me. Is there a form I need to fill out?

A text to a partner

Hey, I'm getting tested this week. It's just routine. Would you get tested too? I'm happy to go together.

See it done

Video by AMAZE Org Nonprofit

Does STI Testing Hurt? #AskAMAZE

Watch on YouTube: Does STI Testing Hurt? #AskAMAZE

2022 · Checked October 3, 2026

AMAZE makes short sex-ed videos for young people. This one is just about the tests themselves. Where to go and how to keep it private are in the steps.

Video won't load at school or work? No problem. Everything you need is in the steps; the video's just a bonus. Watch it on YouTube later.

If it doesn't work

Charged a copay for birth control on a Marketplace plan? Call your insurer and ask why. Covered methods from an in-network provider shouldn't cost you anything. Source: HealthCare.gov²
Got a bill you don't understand? See Medical bills and EOBs.
Feeling pressured or unsafe with a partner? See Green flags and red flags and Consent, explained.

Good to know

The details, if you want them. Tap a line to open it.

Covered for men too

The adult preventive list covers HIV screening for everyone 15 to 65, PrEP for HIV-negative adults at high risk, and STI prevention counseling for adults at higher risk. Source: HealthCare.gov⁴

Take it with you

Printable card Download card (PDF)

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Get Tested: HIV, STI and viral hepatitis testing near you
HealthCare.gov Birth control benefits
HealthCare.gov Preventive care benefits for women
HealthCare.gov Preventive care benefits for adults
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs About Title X service grants
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations 45 CFR 164.522: Rights to request privacy protection for protected health information

Lesson B9.3 · Last checked October 3, 2026 against the sources listed.

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