Woodbury County reports around 37 syphilis cases per 100,000 residents, above the US average. Whether you have symptoms or just want peace of mind in Cushing, Iowa, consider whether you're comfortable with insurance billing and sliding-scale fees at a clinic, or prefer an upfront price at a private lab. See your options below.
Available testing centers
6 testing options are listed for Cushing, IA. The nearest, Mercy Medical Services, is about 5.3 miles away. Compare 3 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.
A community safety-net rural health clinic about 5 miles from Cushing. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
A safety-net rural health clinic about 7 miles from Cushing. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
A public safety-net rural health clinic about 14 miles from Cushing. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Today's offer: $10 off any test panel, applied automatically at checkout.
Today's offer: $10 off any test panel, applied automatically at checkout.
Today's offer: $10 off any test panel, applied automatically at checkout.
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 |
|---|
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. Widen the distance or clear the service-type filter.
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 Cushing, 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 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 for simplicity & support
$89 & up
Best value: single tests
$49 & 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 Woodbury 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.
4545 Sergeant Road, Sioux City, IA 51106
CMS-certified lab
2720 Stone Park Boulevard, Sioux City, IA 51104
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
631 East Frontage Road, Moville, IA 51039
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Cushing. 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, 21 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Cushing. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit.
Curtis Hesse
Internal medicine · 701 East 2nd Street, Ida Grove
Sean Nelson, MD
Family medicine · 225 Main Street, Aurelia
Byron Perkinson, MD
Family medicine · 300 Sioux Valley Drive, Cherokee
Wesley Parker, MD
Family medicine · 300 East Pine Street, Marcus
W Scott Wulfekuhler, MD
Family medicine · 1525 West 5th Street, Storm Lake
Daniel Olsen, DO
Urology · 620 Northwestern Dr Pod, Storm Lake
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
Compare the pharmacies closest to Cushing, IA. Contact a location directly to confirm pharmacy-counter hours, services, prices, and product availability before visiting.
Holstein Community Pharmacy
6.9 miMills Pharmacy
11 miShopko Pharmacy
13 miIda Drug
13 miLewis Family Drug
13 miKingsley Drug
17 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Cushing, IA.
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 Cushing, 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.
Online treatment
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
Online treatment
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
PrEP & DoxyPEP
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
PrEP & DoxyPEP
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 Woodbury County, the county that includes Cushing, compare with Iowa and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~27% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#3 of 99 Iowa counties for chlamydia, among the very highest in the state
| Infection | Woodbury County | Iowa | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 638 676 cases ▲ 49% | 426.8 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 167.1 177 cases ▲ 43% | 116.8 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 36.8 39 cases ▲ 257% | 10.3 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 64.2 68 cases ▲ 598% | 9.2 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 49.1 52 cases ▲ 396% | 9.9 | 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 Woodbury County, chlamydia has fallen from 791 to 638 per 100,000 (19%), gonorrhea has fallen from 400.2 to 167.1 per 100,000 (58%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 14.2 to 36.8 per 100,000 (159%).
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
Primary-care shortage score 19 / 26
Medically Underserved Area · IMU 60.7
Social Vulnerability Index · 72nd percentile nationally
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 Woodbury County.
Local HIV snapshot
Woodbury County HIV care continuum (2023)
Woodbury County recorded 6.9 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 5.1 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Woodbury County residents living with HIV, 92.5% are in care · 85.1% 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 Woodbury County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Editorially Reviewed & Fact-Checked · Updated
Reviewed by EasySTD Editorial Team
Compiled and checked by EasySTD's editorial team against CDC and public-health sources. This is educational information, not a substitute for advice from a licensed clinician. Our editorial guidelines →
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
CR D22 cuts through Cushing's core, and the housing stock along it tells you something useful: most residents own their homes outright at values well below state averages, and the quarter who rent pay some of the lowest monthly costs you'll find anywhere in Woodbury County. That economic steadiness is real, but it also means the town runs lean: not many people here are flush with discretionary health-care spending, and a copay or clinic fee that feels trivial elsewhere can still give pause. What complicates routine care more than cost, though, is the labor picture.
Nearly half the adult population is outside the formal workforce altogether, and those who are employed tend to keep the kind of schedules (steady, locally rooted, not nine-to-five flexible) that make mid-week appointments harder to hold. Young adults still building relationships and navigating their twenties are precisely the group for whom a test that requires two days of planning often becomes no test at all. The options listed on this page reach into and around Cushing with enough range on hours and fees that the calculus changes: a same-day slot or a $0 visit removes the specific hurdle that would otherwise win.
Getting there
At 5.45/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Cushing 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 51018 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 51018 area around Cushing: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Cushing alone.
Cushing sits in Woodbury County, ZIP 51018. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Cushing? 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 Woodbury County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Iowa 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 Cushing-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 Cushing 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 Iowa 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 Iowa, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own; a parent may be notified only in the case of a positive HIV test result.
Iowa 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 IowaSource: 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.
Possibly, Holstein, IA is close; compare it by distance against Mercy Medical Services.
Most plans cover STD screening; a clinic or lab can bill insurance, or you can pay a flat self-pay price.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 638 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), above the Iowa average.
In Iowa, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Roughly 1–2 weeks after exposure gives a dependable gonorrhea result.
Yes, test after the window period, and if HIV exposure is a concern, ask about PEP within 72 hours.
It depends: a blood draw covers HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis, while urine or a swab covers chlamydia and gonorrhea.
It's cured with antibiotics; treating partners together prevents reinfection.
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.