Tehama County reports about 13 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 residents, near the US average. Whether you have symptoms or just want peace of mind, you'll find public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits for STI testing in Lake California, California. Public clinics keep costs down, private labs prioritize speed, and at-home kits trade a clinic visit for convenience — see your options below.
Available testing centers
9 testing options are listed for Lake California, CA. The nearest, Dignity Health, is about 4.3 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.
A safety-net rural health clinic about 4 miles from Lake California. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Anderson Family Health Center, in Anderson, earns its federally qualified designation partly by tying STI screening fees to patients' actual income: meaning syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia testing is available on a sliding scale to anyone who walks in, regardless of insurance status.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Shasta Community Health Center in Anderson runs STI testing by appointment, with the full standard panel, sliding-scale fees, same-visit treatment for bacterial infections, and HPV, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines available at the same visit.
Leaving herpes or hepatitis off the panel means a second visit, a separate lab order, and weeks of not knowing. Shasta Community Health Center tests for herpes, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C alongside gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV. Closing those gaps in a single appointment in Anderson.
When a patient can only partially follow what's being said, dosing instructions get missed and follow-up questions go unasked, and that's where treatment breaks down. At Shasta Community Health Center, care is delivered directly in Spanish, so every part of the visit carries the same weight.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jan 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
A public safety-net rural health clinic about 12 miles from Lake California. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Tehama County Health Services Agency in Red Bluff requires an appointment and covers gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and rapid HIV testing alongside family planning and TB testing: with bacterial STIs treated the same visit, HIV testing free, and all remaining services on a sliding scale.
Tehama County Health Services Agency structures its entire service menu (STI testing, TB screening, family planning, and treatment) at no charge. That single fee floor applies across all services without carving out exceptions by program or visit type.
Spanish-language care at Tehama County Health Services Agency is staffed rather than routed through an external service: meaning clinical history, test results, and treatment instructions move through direct conversation. That staffing keeps clinical detail intact across both languages.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Mar 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
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 4 miles away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Lake California, 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 Tehama 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.
2550 Sister Mary Columba Drive, Red Bluff, CA 96080
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
2550 Sister Mary Columba Drive, Red Bluff, CA 96080
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Lake California. 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, 108 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Lake California. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 20 offer telehealth.
Nirmal Mehton, MD
Family medicine · 2830 East Street, Anderson
Calista Vinyard, DO
Family medicine · 2965 East Street, Anderson
Rodney Swenson, DO
Family medicine · 3082 Mcmurray Drive, Anderson
John Nepomuceno, MD
Family medicine · 3300 Franklin Street, Anderson
Meghan Leininger, DO
Family medicine · 2340 Liberty Parkway, Red Bluff
Aishwarya Sharma, DO Telehealth
Family medicine · 1795 Walnut Street, Red Bluff
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 Lake California, CA 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.
Cottonwood Drugs
4.7 mi
6.5 mi 
7.6 mi 
7.8 mi Showing the 4 closest pharmacies to Lake California, CA.
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 Lake California, 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 $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
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
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 Tehama County, the county that includes Lake California, compare with California and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~22% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#37 of 58 California counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 36% of the state
| Infection | Tehama County | California | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 300.5 195 cases ▼ 39% | 491.1 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 86.3 56 cases ▼ 55% | 190.2 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 26.2 17 cases ▲ 61% | 16.3 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 7.7 5 cases ▼ 60% | 19.1 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 44.7 29 cases ▼ 4% | 46.7 | 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 Tehama County, chlamydia has fallen from 338.8 to 300.5 per 100,000 (11%), gonorrhea has fallen from 151.9 to 86.3 per 100,000 (43%), and P&S syphilis has fallen from 34.9 to 26.2 per 100,000 (25%).
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 Tehama County.
Local HIV snapshot
Tehama County HIV care continuum (2023)
Tehama County recorded 13 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 14.9 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Tehama County residents living with HIV, 73.5% are in care · 40.8% 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 Tehama County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Round Mountain anchors the western edge of Lake California's daily geography, and life here runs on a rhythm that most planning grids don't account for: households that are large by California standards, heavily owner-occupied, and built around two-parent arrangements. Nearly seven in ten adults here are married, and average household size tips well past three: meaning schedules often run on school pickups, shared vehicles, and the compressed logistics of family life rather than individual convenience. That household reality shapes how younger adults here, people in their late teens and twenties who represent the years when STI transmission peaks, actually navigate health care. With labor-force participation below the state norm and a quarter of residents renting at costs that leave limited slack, a testing appointment competes with shift coverage, childcare, and the fact that nothing in Lake California is a short walk away.
Getting to any of the options listed on this page requires deliberate planning and a vehicle. That's worth sitting with, because Tehama County's STI picture makes routine screening genuinely consequential, not precautionary theater. The single nearest option listed here serves residents across a wide area, so knowing exactly what it offers (hours, fees, whether walk-ins are accepted) before the drive out from Round Mountain is the most practical first step.
Getting there
At 6.75/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Lake California 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 96022 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 96022 area around Lake California: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Lake California alone.
Lake California sits in Tehama County, ZIP 96022. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Lake California? 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 Tehama County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under California 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 Lake California-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 Lake California 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 California 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 California, a minor aged 12 or older can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
California 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 CaliforniaSource: 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, Redding, CA is close; compare it by distance against Dignity Health.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Yes, Tehama County Health Services Agency (13.4 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 301 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), below the California average.
In California, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
With consistent treatment, HIV can become undetectable in the blood, and undetectable means it can't be sexually transmitted (U=U).
Some HPV types can lead to cervical and other cancers over time, which is why screening and the HPV vaccine matter.
Community health centers and family-planning clinics serve all patients, and many offer LGBTQ-affirming care, ask the site directly.
That's a myth; STIs need sexual contact to spread, not surfaces.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.