In Morehouse Parish Parish there are about 593 gonorrhea cases per 100,000 residents, above the US average. If you've had a recent risk or simply test on a regular schedule in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, consider whether you prefer public clinics for lower costs, private labs for faster results, or at-home kits for convenience. Choose from the list below.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Mer Rouge, LA. The nearest, CommuniHealth Services Mer Rouge Family Practice & Behavioral Health Center, is about 0.1 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.
A public safety-net federally qualified health center in Mer Rouge. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Louisiana Department of Health in Bastrop tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV on a sliding-scale fee, with Medicaid and private insurance also accepted. Bacterial STIs treated same visit, and appointments are required.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Mar 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
A community safety-net rural health clinic about 7 miles from Mer Rouge. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
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 less than a mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Mer Rouge, 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 Morehouse Parish, 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.
301 Davenport Avenue, Mer Rouge, LA 71261
CMS-certified lab
323 West Walnut, Box 1060, Bastrop, LA 71220
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
323 West Walnut Avenue, Bastrop, LA 71220
CMS-certified lab Accredited · COLA
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Mer Rouge. 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, 160 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Mer Rouge. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 15 offer telehealth.
Allen Spires, MD
Family medicine · 301 Davenport Avenue, Mer Rouge
Curtis Sanders, MD
OB-GYN · 420 South Vine Street, Bastrop
Hamilton Lam, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 323 West Walnut Avenue, Bastrop
Christopher Clark, MD
Family medicine · 518 Durham Street, Bastrop
Tahir Qayyum, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 540 Durham Street, Bastrop
John Ziegler, MD
OB-GYN · 355 West Hickory Avenue, Bastrop
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 Mer Rouge, LA 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.
Brodie Pharmacy
0.1 miMer Rouge Communihealth Pharmacy
0.1 miVillage Pharmacy
0.3 miPerkins Family Pharmacy
0.3 mi
2.6 mi Showing the 5 closest pharmacies to Mer Rouge, LA.
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 Mer Rouge, 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.
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
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 Morehouse Parish, the parish that includes Mer Rouge, compare with Louisiana and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~18% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#3 of 64 Louisiana counties for chlamydia, among the very highest in the state
| Infection | Morehouse Parish | Louisiana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1277.4 306 cases ▲ 61% | 792.4 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 592.8 142 cases ▲ 106% | 288.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 58.4 14 cases ▲ 124% | 26.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 33.4 8 cases ▲ 70% | 19.6 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 87.7 21 cases ▲ 67% | 52.6 | 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 Morehouse Parish, chlamydia has risen from 1076.9 to 1277.4 per 100,000 (19%), gonorrhea has fallen from 753.1 to 592.8 per 100,000 (21%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 19.5 to 58.4 per 100,000 (199%).
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 Morehouse Parish.
Local HIV snapshot
Morehouse Parish HIV care continuum (2021)
Morehouse Parish recorded 0 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2021), against 22.5 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Morehouse Parish residents living with HIV, 76.8% are in care · 71.4% 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 Morehouse Parish tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Mer Rouge's east side, where renters make up a meaningful share of households, tends to run on tight margins, and with fewer than four in ten residents counted in the labor force at all, those who do work often carry schedules that leave little room for appointments during standard clinic hours. That reality lands hardest on young adults in their late teens and twenties, for whom routine screening is most consequential and most easily deferred when getting somewhere requires a car and a half-day of planning. The economics here reinforce that pattern.
Typical rents are low enough to suggest constrained household budgets overall, and with only a small slice of households reaching higher income levels, out-of-pocket testing costs can genuinely change whether someone follows through. An average household size above three also means childcare and shared-vehicle logistics enter the calculation whenever anyone heads out on Davenport Avenue toward US 165 or down Andrews Lane for an appointment. For a resident near the east side of town, the difference between the nearest option and the third or fourth one down the list could mean finding a Saturday slot or a sliding-scale fee that makes the trip worth taking.
Getting there
At 3.56/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Mer Rouge 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 71261 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 71261 area around Mer Rouge: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Mer Rouge alone.
Mer Rouge sits in Morehouse Parish, ZIP 71261. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Mer Rouge? 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 Morehouse Parish: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Louisiana 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 Mer Rouge-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 Mer Rouge 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Louisiana 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 LouisianaSource: 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, Bastrop, LA is close; compare it by distance against CommuniHealth Services Mer Rouge Family Practice & Behavioral Health Center.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Yes, community and public clinics test the uninsured, with sliding-scale fees.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 1,277 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), above the Louisiana average.
In Louisiana, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 71261; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
That's a myth; STIs need sexual contact to spread, not surfaces.
Community health centers and family-planning clinics serve all patients, and many offer LGBTQ-affirming care, ask the site directly.
Public health clinics, family-planning clinics, and many school or campus health centers test teens and young adults, often free.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.