The long-term costs of not getting tested for sexually transmitted infections are high, but the monetary costs of getting tested are too high for some students to afford.
Last year, Tufts Health Services performed 646 gonorrhea tests, 713 tests for chlamydia, 313 for HIV, 65 for syphilis and 26 for herpes - but students were required to pay.
The University does not provide free sexually transmitted infection testing, Health Service Medical Director Margaret Higham said, because it is too expensive and Tufts' small endowment is holding Health Services back.
"A couple of years ago, it was estimated that it would cost $35,000 a year to provide free testing," Higham said. "The costs have probably gone up."
Schools like Johns Hopkins University provide free testing for some sexually transmitted infections.
Health Services conducts all of the tests except the ones for HIV, which are sent to an outside lab. Gonorrhea and chlamydia tests each cost $42, HIV tests cost $20, herpes cultures cost $81 and herpes blood tests cost $91.
"We're already trying our best to price the tests as conservatively as possible," Higham said. "We don't make any profit on the tests, and with the HIV test, we take a loss."
Freshman Lelia Chaisson said the prices are not low enough. "It's way too expensive," she said. "College students don't often have access to that kind of money."
Despite the price, Chaisson said she is glad Health Services provides testing. "It's really good that Tufts offers testing because it's convenient," she said. "Students are more likely to get tested if it's convenient."
Freshman Brian Fallica agreed. "You'd think they could take our tuition and put it towards Health Services," he said. "They should make [testing] free. I wouldn't pay to get the tests, and many other people who should probably wouldn't either."
The testing at Health Services is confidential, which means that results are only given to the tested person and can only be sent to another medical provider with the tested person's permission.
The results are not given to partners, parents, or the administration.
Confidential testing is different from anonymous testing. Under confidential testing, the individual's name is on the lab requisition form, and the results go in the person's medical record. Under anonymous testing, no name is attached to the samples.
The insurance company may be billed for the cost of the tests, unless the student opts to pay for the tests in cash.
Harvard University offers students the option anonymous or confidential HIV testing.
Higham said though most students know the dangers of HIV, fewer pay attention to other sexually transmitted infections, such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), also known as genital warts. People with HPV often do not have any symptoms.
"Students come in, and after the HIV test comes out negative, they think they're clean," she said. "Well, even though they might not have HIV, they might have HPV, which you can only test for by taking a pap smear."
Even with a pap smear, Higham said, HPV is difficult to identify. "It can go undetected," she said.
Health Services regularly updates its Web site and distributes pamphlets on sexually transmitted infections and the services the University provides. Fliers are also hung around campus.
These efforts have not gone unnoticed, Higham said. Though she did not have exact numbers, she said testing has increased each year. She credited the increase to Health Services publicity, not a rise in unprotected sex.
