Letcher County saw about 79% fewer chlamydia cases than the national average. For Blackey, residents need convenient STI testing whether they're getting tested for the first time or as part of regular screening. Free or low-cost services may come with longer waits than private labs. Check the list below for options.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Blackey, KY. The nearest, Mountain Comprehensive Health, is about 5.1 miles away. Compare community and public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits below.
Listings tagged Community health center are federally funded health centers and rural clinics that treat everyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay: required to bill on a sliding fee scale and provide confidential care, and in many states minors may consent to their own STI testing. A Title X tag flags centers funded for confidential family-planning services; confirm current participation when you call.
Source: CMS FQHC & Rural Health Clinic enrollment files (data.cms.gov), refreshed quarterly. Title X status reflects the latest OPA grantee list.
Mountain Comprehensive Health in Jeremiah functions as a community health center where STI care (rapid and conventional HIV testing, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, hepatitis A, B, and C, and TB) runs on a sliding-scale fee with same-visit bacterial treatment, no appointment required, and all services provided at no fee.
When cost sits between a person and treatment, gonorrhea goes untreated, a hepatitis C diagnosis stalls, HIV care gets delayed. Mountain Comprehensive Health removes that specific barrier entirely: every test, every treatment, every follow-up visit carries no charge, regardless of insurance status or income.
Without language access, a positive syphilis result can go misunderstood, a PrEP regimen can be started incorrectly, and hepatitis C treatment can lapse. Mountain Comprehensive Health provides interpretation services for non-English languages so that medication instructions, test results, and treatment plans land accurately the first time.
Mountain Comprehensive Health prescribes both PrEP and PEP directly, meaning HIV prevention doesn't require a separate provider or a second appointment. Patients leave with an active prescription and the continuity that consistent use demands.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Dec 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
A safety-net rural health clinic about 6 miles from Blackey. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Leatherwood/Blackey Medical Clinic in Cornettsville meets people between providers, paying cash, or working without insurance through federally qualified sliding-scale fees tied to income. Walk-ins are welcome for STI screening covering syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. No appointment needed to get tested.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Free tool · not a clinic
Testing too soon can miss an infection. Enter the date of possible exposure to see the earliest a test can reliably detect each STI.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Conclusive after |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Gonorrhea | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Trichomoniasis | 7 days after exposure | 28 days after exposure |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10 days after exposure | 33 days after exposure |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18 days after exposure | 45 days after exposure |
| HIV (antibody) | 21 days after exposure | 84 days after exposure |
| Syphilis | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis B | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis C | 56 days after exposure | 77 days after exposure |
| Herpes (HSV) | 28 days after exposure | 112 days after exposure |
Guidance only, confirm timing with a clinician. A negative result before the conclusive date may need a repeat test.
Typical out-of-pocket ranges by option, actual cost depends on which tests you need.
Public / community clinic
Free HIV testing is common
Private lab (self-pay)
Never billed to insurance
At-home kit
Mailed to your door, private
Doctor / urgent care
Often $0 preventive with insurance
No centers match those filters. Clear the service-type filter or the opening-hours filters to see every center.
Every other option
Beyond the dedicated testing centers above: at-home kits by mail, hospital labs certified for STI testing, local clinicians who can order a panel during a regular visit, pharmacies for self-test kits and prescriptions, and online PrEP & treatment.
Test from home
The nearest testing center is about 5 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Blackey, you collect the sample privately, and mail it back to a CLIA-certified lab. Results come online in days, with a clinician available if anything is positive. Same labs as a clinic, no waiting room, and you can read how accurate at-home STD tests are before you order.
Want a free option first? The CDC-supported TakeMeHome (opens in a new tab) program mails free at-home HIV self-test kits, and, in many areas, free STI kits, to your door, with no insurance or payment needed. The paid kits below add broader panels and faster turnaround.
In-home collection
$79 & up
Best value: single tests
$49 & up
Best range: couples & full panels
$79 & up
Every kit uses CLIA-certified labs. At-home testing is for screening; a reactive result should be confirmed and treated by a clinician. Prices and panels shown are illustrative and change often, confirm current details on the provider's site.
Also in the area
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Letcher County, each lab's town is shown on its card below. Many test through a doctor's order or by appointment rather than walk-in, so call ahead to confirm STD/STI testing and availability before visiting.
240 Hospital Road, Whitesburg, KY 41858
CMS-certified lab
226 Medical Plaza Lane, Whitesburg, KY 41858
CMS-certified lab
1345 Hwy 343, Neon, KY 41840
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Blackey. A CLIA certificate records only that a laboratory is federally certified — it does not confirm the site performs STD testing, nor its hours, price or access. Inclusion is not an endorsement; always call to verify.
Local clinicians
Beyond dedicated clinics, 141 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Blackey. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 20 offer telehealth.
Kelcie Gregory, DO
Internal medicine · 464 Ky Hwy 699, Cornettsville
John Jones, DO
Internal medicine · 10616 South Ky Hwy 15, Scuddy
Gregory Dye, MD
Family medicine · 226 Medical Plaza Lane, Whitesburg
Shane Mcdougal, MD
Family medicine · 240 Hospital Road, Whitesburg
Ricky Collins, MD
Family medicine · 214 Hospital Road, Whitesburg
Naseer Abbas, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 73 Piedmont Drive, Whitesburg
These are registry-listed clinicians, not dedicated STD-testing clinics. CMS records do not independently verify current licensure, testing services, availability, price, or new-patient status. Confirm each detail before booking. Source: CMS Doctors & Clinicians.
Nearby pharmacies
No pharmacy near Blackey, KY publishes an STD-related service or holds a current CLIA testing certificate, so these are simply the closest. Contact a location directly to confirm counter hours, services, prices, and availability before visiting.
L B Clinic Pharmacy
5.9 miLeatherwood Pharmacy
5.9 miIsom Community Pharmacy
6.0 miVicco Prescription Center
7.0 miVicco Pharmacy
7.2 miSuperior Drug
7.7 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Blackey, KY.
Directory records identify nearby pharmacies. Service, stock, price, and hours information is shown only when supported by current location-specific evidence.
Prevention & treatment
Testing is one step. For residents of Blackey, telehealth covers the rest: HIV-prevention medication (PrEP) and DoxyPEP to lower future risk, and discreet online treatment if a result comes back positive. All prescribed by licensed U.S. clinicians.
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
Pricing varies by insurance and changes often, confirm on the provider's site. These services are not a substitute for emergency care.
STD stats & rates
How reported STI rates in Letcher County, the county that includes Blackey, compare with Kentucky and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~21% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#113 of 120 Kentucky counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 6% of the state
| Infection | Letcher County | Kentucky | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 102.8 21 cases ▼ 73% | 381.9 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 88.1 18 cases ▼ 34% | 134.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 9.8 2 cases ▼ 30% | 14.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | — no data | 14.5 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 4.9 1 cases ▼ 74% | 18.9 | 29.5 |
Rates per 100,000 population, 2023. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis). Population figures: U.S. Census Bureau ACS. These figures are the latest available surveillance estimates. Bars are scaled to the highest rate shown.
Reading these numbers: reported case rates only count infections that were actually tested for and diagnosed, so they track local screening effort as much as true spread: a higher rate can reflect more testing, a lower one less. Either way, most STIs cause no symptoms, so treat the figures above as context rather than a verdict, and test on the CDC's schedule regardless of how your area looks.
Between 2020 and 2023 in Letcher County, chlamydia has fallen from 134.6 to 102.8 per 100,000 (24%), gonorrhea has risen from 32.5 to 88.1 per 100,000 (171%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 9.6 to 9.8 per 100,000 (2%).
The 2020 dip reflects reduced pandemic-era screening, not lower transmission. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis).
Community health context
Sources: CDC PLACES (ZIP), County Health Rankings, CDC/ATSDR SVI, HRSA HPSA, HRSA MUA/P, Neighborhood Atlas ADI. Lower insurance coverage, fewer routine checkups, and a thin primary-care ratio all raise the value of low-cost public clinics and at-home testing in Letcher County.
Local HIV snapshot
Federal priority area: Kentucky is one of the U.S. jurisdictions prioritized under the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative: targeted federal funding to expand local HIV testing, PrEP, and prevention.
Letcher County HIV care continuum (2023)
Letcher County recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 10.4 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Letcher County residents living with HIV, 62.5% are in care · 62.5% are virally suppressed. Early, routine testing is what moves these numbers: it is the entry point to PrEP, treatment, and viral suppression.
Sources: AIDSVu (Emory/Gilead) · CDC AHEAD · CDC AtlasPlus · CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county care continuum). The CDC recommends everyone aged 13–64 test for HIV at least once: every lab and clinic listed above offers HIV testing, and free rapid HIV testing is available at a local health department.
Congenital syphilis, passed from parent to baby in pregnancy, is the fastest-rising STI in the country. U.S. cases climbed from 2,163 in 2020 to 3,882 in 2023. It is almost entirely preventable: the CDC recommends a syphilis test at the first prenatal visit, and every clinic and lab listed for Letcher County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Younger adults settling near Dikson Mountain often find themselves at a life stage where steady work is hard to come by and financial footing stays tight, Blackey's labor-force and unemployment picture means a lot of people are managing stretched budgets rather than building savings, which makes the cost of care feel like a real barrier before anyone even looks up clinic hours. With four in five households owning rather than renting, and home values reflecting a genuinely modest local economy, out-of-pocket expenses carry more weight here than in higher-income markets. For people in their late teens and twenties, the years when STI risk peaks and relationship patterns are still shifting, that cost pressure can quietly turn "I'll get tested soon" into an indefinite delay.
Most households in Blackey are family-anchored, with over half of adults married and average households running close to three people, so conversations about sexual health often happen inside long-term partnerships rather than anonymously at a downtown clinic. That's exactly why the options listed on this page matter: every one of them requires a deliberate drive out of the holler, so knowing in advance which sites offer low-cost or sliding-scale visits can be the detail that turns a trip worth taking into a trip actually taken.
Getting there
At 4.13/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Blackey generally mean driving: plan on a car or rideshare to reach a clinic, and check each listing's hours and phone before you go.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
ZIP 41804 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 41804 area around Blackey: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Blackey alone.
Blackey sits in Letcher County, ZIP 41804. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Blackey? These nearby communities have their own testing guides: clinics, at-home kits, and free screening close to home.
Reference
Everything to know before you test in Letcher County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Kentucky law. If you have symptoms right now, our confidential symptom checker maps them to the tests worth considering.
Based on current CDC screening recommendations.
| Group | Tests | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone aged 13–64 | HIV | At least once |
| Sexually active women under 25 | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Women 25+ with new or multiple partners | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Pregnant people | HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B & C, chlamydia | Early in pregnancy |
| Gay & bisexual men (MSM) | Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV | Every 3–6 months |
| Anyone who shares injection equipment | HIV, hepatitis B & C | At least yearly |
| All adults at least once | Hepatitis C | At least once |
Testing too early can return a false negative, confirm timing with a Blackey-area provider.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Gonorrhea | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Trichomoniasis | 1–4 weeks | Urine or swab |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10–33 days | Blood |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18–45 days | Blood |
| HIV (antibody) | 3–12 weeks | Blood / oral |
| Syphilis | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis B | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis C | 8–11 weeks | Blood |
| Herpes (HSV) | 4–16 weeks (antibody); swab a sore | Blood / swab |
These are the federal Medicare reference prices for processing each lab test. Public clinics and the community health centers serving Blackey often test free or on a sliding scale; private labs and at-home kits bundle several tests into one fee. Use this as a per-test benchmark before you pay out of pocket, or see the full guide to STD test costs for insurance, free, and at-home options.
| Test | Reference price | CPT / HCPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87491 |
| Gonorrhea (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87591 |
| Trichomoniasis (NAAT) | $47.76 | 87661 |
| HIV-1/2 antigen/antibody | $26.87 | 87389 |
| HIV-1/2 antibody | $22.44 | 86703 |
| Syphilis (RPR/VDRL) | $5.61 | 86592 |
| Syphilis (treponemal antibody) | $17.49 | 86780 |
| Herpes (HSV NAAT) | $47.76 | 87529 |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen | $15.33 | 87340 |
| Hepatitis C antibody | $29.16 | 86803 |
Source: Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, CMS, 2025 rates (data.cms.gov). Reference rate for the lab assay only: a clinic visit, sample collection, or a bundled multi-test panel may cost more. Medicaid and most insurers cover STD screening at no out-of-pocket cost.
Two things that actually depend on Kentucky law: who can consent, and whether partners can be treated without their own visit. Everything else about testing privately is the same nationwide (see below).
In Kentucky, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Kentucky permits Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT): if you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your provider can give you medication (or a prescription) to pass to your partner, no separate exam or appointment needed for them.
Keeping a test private works the same in every state. Whether an STD test shows on insurance (the EOB), how to test anonymously, and self-pay options that leave no insurance trail don’t change by location.
Learn more about confidential STD testing in KentuckySource: Guttmacher Institute, Minors' Access to STI Services; CDC, Legal Status of Expedited Partner Therapy. General information, not legal advice.
Good to Know
Answers to the questions people ask most before getting tested.
The closest is Mountain Comprehensive Health (5.1 mi); 6 options are within 30 miles.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Yes, Mountain Comprehensive Health (5.1 mi) offers free testing, and public clinics serve the uninsured.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 103 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the Kentucky average.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 41804; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
In Kentucky, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Yes, most chlamydia infections cause no symptoms, so screening is the only reliable way to catch it.
Yes, HSV-1 from the mouth can spread to the genital area through oral sex.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.