In Lake County, Indiana, there are about 163 gonorrhea cases per 100,000 residents. If you live in Merrillville, Indiana and are looking for STI testing before starting a new relationship or as part of ongoing care, consider whether you prefer the convenience of an at-home kit or the immediate answers and treatment options available from a clinic. See the options for Merrillville, Indiana below.
Available testing centers
12 testing options are listed for Merrillville, IN. The nearest, Methodist Hospitals, is about 0.6 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.
Methodist Hospitals in Merrillville brings the diagnostic infrastructure of a hospital to STI care: rapid and conventional HIV testing, the standard bacterial panel, same-visit treatment for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, all on a sliding scale with walk-ins welcome. PrEP and PEP are available on-site.
Methodist Hospitals prescribes both PrEP and PEP directly, without routing those conversations to a separate provider. That means a patient's testing results and prevention plan live in the same clinical relationship, making it easier to start, adjust, or sustain either medication over time.
Walk-in STI clinics often test only for the four bacterial-and-viral basics, leaving hepatitis to a separate appointment elsewhere. Methodist Hospitals tests for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C in the same visit, along with TB, so a single stop covers infections that a narrower panel would miss entirely.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Feb 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest Hawaii Alaska Indiana Kentucky in Merrillville runs a full appointment-based STI clinic (rapid HIV, herpes, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia) on a sliding-scale fee open to all, with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and interpretation services available.
Interpretation services are available for non-English languages throughout the visit, which means nuanced conversations (about DoxyPEP dosing, PrEP eligibility, or a positive herpes result) happen in the language a patient reasons in, without stripping clinical detail in the process.
As a Title X-funded clinic, Planned Parenthood Great Northwest Hawaii Alaska Indiana Kentucky in Merrillville provides legally confidential family planning and STI services to minors. Meaning consent and records are handled independently of a parent or guardian, a specific protection that Title X mandates rather than leaves to clinic discretion.
For anyone without a regular prescriber for HIV or bacterial STI prevention, this clinic holds all three: PrEP for ongoing HIV risk reduction, PEP for post-exposure management, and DoxyPEP, the doxycycline regimen taken after potential bacterial STI exposure, so prevention doesn't require splitting care across multiple providers.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jul 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN
Regional Mental Health - Strawhun Center, in Merrillville, earned federal qualification as a health center, which means its STI screening (syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia) runs on a sliding-scale fee tied to income, keeping costs within reach for anyone who walks in.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Community HealthNet Health Centers in Merrillville charges nothing for HIV testing and runs every other service on a sliding-scale tied to income, with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance all accepted. Rapid and conventional HIV tests are available by appointment, with same-visit treatment for bacterial STIs.
Testing-only HIV programs hand off a positive result with nowhere to go for ongoing medical management. Community HealthNet's Ryan White funding closes that gap: HIV diagnosis, medical treatment, and long-term care are all staffed and sustained at the same site in Merrillville.
Plenty of clinics screen for HIV without the clinical infrastructure to prescribe or follow a prevention regimen. Community HealthNet maintains the prescribing, lab monitoring, and follow-up appointments that PrEP and PEP each require. Handled directly by the staff in Merrillville.
The no-fee structure at Community HealthNet isn't a grant-funded carve-out for a single test, it runs across all services the clinic provides. Billing is absorbed through the funding mix of Ryan White, sliding-scale adjustments, and accepted public and private insurance, so the cost to a patient landing at zero is zero.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Aug 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
NorthShore Health Centers in Merrillville is a community health center, which means STI care sits alongside the fuller infrastructure of primary medicine: walk-in testing for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, rapid and conventional HIV, hepatitis C, and TB, on a sliding-scale fee open to everyone, with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and PrEP and PEP on-site.
Sexual health clinics that test but can't prescribe leave a gap between result and protection, someone who needs PrEP starts over at a primary care office. NorthShore closes that gap: both PrEP for ongoing prevention and PEP are prescribed and managed on-site in Merrillville.
NorthShore's substance-use treatment isn't a referral to a separate program: it's a clinical service within the same Merrillville facility, meaning providers can coordinate medication, monitoring, and STI care through a shared chart rather than across disconnected offices.
NorthShore tests for hepatitis C alongside gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV, and backs hepatitis A and B exposure with on-site vaccination. That means a single visit in Merrillville can address both active infection screening and immunity gaps across the full hepatitis spectrum.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Feb 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
219 Health Network in Crown Point meets patients where they are (uninsured, cash-paying, or navigating gaps between providers) through federally qualified health center status that ties fees to income. Walk-ins are welcome for sliding-scale STI screening covering syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Edgewater Health in Merrillville takes walk-ins for a panel covering rapid and conventional HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis C, with bacterial infections treated the same visit. Fees run on a sliding scale, and HPV, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines are available on-site.
Plenty of testing sites hand off prevention prescribing entirely, Edgewater Health writes both PrEP and PEP in-house. That means the clinic managing your results is the same one authorizing the medication, with no separate provider to locate or schedule.
Edgewater Health's panel runs to six infections: rapid HIV, conventional HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis C. Adding hepatitis C to the same visit means chronic viral exposure gets screened alongside acute bacterial risk without a separate appointment or lab order.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Feb 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
Powers Health in Hobart accepts Medicaid and most insurance, with fees for those paying directly; the clinic covers STI treatment, HIV/AIDS care, hepatitis B and C, TB, and bacterial STIs treated same visit, by appointment, with PrEP, PEP, and DoxyPEP available for prevention.
Powers Health prescribes PrEP, PEP, and DoxyPEP under one ongoing care relationship: meaning adherence counseling, refills, and any needed follow-up stay with the same clinical team rather than fragmenting across providers.
Without on-site hepatitis C treatment, a confirmed diagnosis often becomes the beginning of a second search. New provider, new intake, delayed antivirals. Powers Health carries treatment through to completion, so a positive result doesn't leave patients navigating an entirely separate care system.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Apr 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
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 Merrillville, 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 Lake 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.
9301 Madison Street, Crown Point, IN 46307
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
10996 Four Seasons Place, Suite 100 A, Crown Point, IN 46307
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
1201 South Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
12750 Saint Francis Drive, Crown Point, IN 46307
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
12750 Saint Francis Drive, Crown Point, IN 46307
CMS-certified lab Accredited · College of American Pathologists
Showing the nearest 5 CLIA-certified labs.
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Merrillville. 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, 1,628 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Merrillville. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 534 offer telehealth.
Michele Keller, MD
Family medicine · 5043 East 81st Avenue, Merrillville
Helen Makinde-Ajayi, MD Telehealth
Internal medicine · 10855 Virginia Street, Crown Point
Elena Gueorguiev, MD
Internal medicine · 10855 Virginia Street, Crown Point
Valentin Drezaliu, MD
OB-GYN · 310 West 112th Avenue, Crown Point
Anas Albrejawi Alhomsi, MD
Family medicine · 8701 Broadway, Merrillville
Faleh Atassi, MD
Family medicine · 8701 Broadway, Merrillville
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 Merrillville, IN 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.
0.1 mi 
0.8 mi 
1.0 mi 
1.1 mi Showing the 4 closest pharmacies to Merrillville, IN.
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 Merrillville, 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 $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
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
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 Lake County, the county that includes Merrillville, compare with Indiana and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~26% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#6 of 92 Indiana counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 93% of the state
| Infection | Lake County | Indiana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 567.7 2,842 cases ▲ 16% | 491 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 163.4 818 cases ▲ 13% | 144 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 7.8 39 cases ▼ 10% | 8.7 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 10.2 51 cases ▲ 7% | 9.5 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 15.2 76 cases ≈ the state average | 15.2 | 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 Lake County, chlamydia has fallen from 587.9 to 567.7 per 100,000 (3%), gonorrhea has fallen from 269.5 to 163.4 per 100,000 (39%), and P&S syphilis has fallen from 8.4 to 7.8 per 100,000 (7%).
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 Lake County.
Local HIV snapshot
Lake County HIV care continuum (2023)
Lake County recorded 11.4 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 11.7 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Lake County residents living with HIV, 69.6% are in care · 58.4% 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 Lake County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Mallard Bay Apartments and the Turkey Creek Meadows corridor house a lot of Merrillville's younger renters: people freshly splitting costs with a roommate or two, navigating that period when relationships are new and annual checkups still feel optional. With roughly a third of residents renting at just over a thousand dollars a month, healthcare appointments compete directly with rent, groceries, and the other non-negotiables. Add an unemployment rate that leaves a meaningful slice of the workforce between jobs and therefore between insurance plans, and the calculus around paying out-of-pocket for screening gets real fast. Getting around makes it more complicated.
Merrillville is built around US 30 and SR 53, wide commercial corridors that are genuinely hard to navigate without a car. The clinics listed on this page are spread across those routes, which means access depends on having a vehicle, a ride, or a flexible enough schedule to piece one together. For younger adults still sorting out their routines, that logistical bar is exactly where testing quietly gets skipped. Lake County's STI rates give good reason not to skip it.
With the majority of Merrillville households occupied by families averaging more than three people, a single undetected infection moves through a shared life quickly. Clinics along Broadway offer same-day or walk-in slots, which, for someone squeezing an errand between shifts near Collins Park, can be the detail that actually changes the outcome.
Getting there
At 7.33/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Merrillville 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 46307 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 46307 area around Merrillville: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Merrillville alone.
Merrillville sits in Lake County, ZIP 46307. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Neighborhoods & communities
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Merrillville? 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 Lake County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Indiana 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 Merrillville-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 Merrillville 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 Indiana 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 Indiana, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Indiana 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 IndianaSource: 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, Crown Point, IN is close; compare it by distance against Methodist Hospitals.
Medicaid generally covers STD testing, and public clinics test for free regardless of coverage.
Public clinics nearby offer free HIV testing.
Local options test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Rapid HIV, a full panel covers the common ones.
About 568 cases per 100,000 residents (2023), above the Indiana average.
In Indiana, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
PrEP (HIV-prevention medicine for HIV-negative people) is available locally, any provider can prescribe it.
Lab results typically come back in 1–2 days.
Yes, at-home kits ship to 46307; you collect a sample, mail it back, and get results in about 2–5 days.
Just note your exposure dates and symptoms; for urine tests, hold off urinating ~1 hour before.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.