In Avoyelles Parish, reported gonorrhea cases run about 64% higher than the US average. For a one-time concern or regular check-ups in Simmesport, Louisiana, weigh local clinics billing insurance or offering sliding-scale fees against private labs' flat self-pay pricing. See the list below for your options.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Simmesport, LA. The nearest, Louisiana Health Care Practitioners, is about 0.4 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 community safety-net rural health clinic in Simmesport. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
A public safety-net federally qualified health center about 11 miles from Simmesport. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Arbor Family Health in Batchelor runs STI care on a sliding-scale fee, accepting Medicaid and private insurance. The family practice tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV, and extends that panel to include hepatitis C.
Languages
English
Tests offered
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified May 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 less than a mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Simmesport, 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 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 Avoyelles 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.
4231 Highway 1192, Marksville, LA 71351
CMS-certified lab Accredited · Joint Commission
4231 Highway 1192, Marksville, LA 71351
CMS-certified lab Accredited · Joint Commission
427 Evergreen Highway, Bunkie, LA 71322
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Simmesport. 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, 34 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Simmesport. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 5 offer telehealth.
Christopher Surek, DO
Family medicine · 314 Christine Lane, Simmesport
Mohammed Aziz, DO
Internal medicine · 7406 Hwy 1, Mansura
Christina Lord, MD
OB-GYN · 657 Government Street, Marksville
Austin Williams, MD
Family medicine · 5541 Hwy 1, Marksville
Elias Mounayar, MD
Internal medicine · 448 North Washington Street, Marksville
Shawn Mccann, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 424 North Washington Street, Marksville
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 Simmesport, 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.
Lacour's Pharmacy Retail
0.2 miDavis Drugs
0.5 miJeffery J Scallan
10 miC&R Drugs
10 miInnis Pharmacy
11 miPoret's Thrifty Way Pharmacy
14 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Simmesport, 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 Simmesport, 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
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
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 Avoyelles Parish, the parish that includes Simmesport, compare with Louisiana and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~24% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#25 of 64 Louisiana counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 61% of the state
| Infection | Avoyelles Parish | Louisiana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 809.7 311 cases ▲ 2% | 792.4 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 294.2 113 cases ▲ 2% | 288.4 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 33.8 13 cases ▲ 30% | 26.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 20.8 8 cases ▲ 6% | 19.6 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 106.7 41 cases ▲ 103% | 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 Avoyelles Parish, chlamydia has risen from 655 to 809.7 per 100,000 (24%), gonorrhea has risen from 289.7 to 294.2 per 100,000 (2%), and P&S syphilis has fallen from 42.8 to 33.8 per 100,000 (21%).
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 Avoyelles Parish.
Local HIV snapshot
Avoyelles Parish HIV care continuum (2023)
Avoyelles Parish recorded 18.8 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 22.5 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Avoyelles Parish residents living with HIV, 78.8% are in care · 74.2% 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 Avoyelles Parish tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Simmesport draws young adults who've chosen to make their lives here: people working, studying, or settling into the rhythms of a smaller Louisiana town where rent stays reasonable and neighbors aren't constantly watching. That mix of independence and close-knit living creates a particular tension around sexual health: the stakes of privacy feel real, and the impulse to handle things quietly runs deep. STI testing available in and around Simmesport recognizes that tension. Clinics here understand that confidentiality isn't theater, it's the difference between someone getting screened and someone staying silent out of worry that word travels. Young adults in their late teens through early thirties make up a significant presence in town, a population for whom routine testing isn't optional health theater but genuine protection.
Whether someone's in a new relationship, between partners, or simply taking responsibility for their own body, testing happens without judgment and without a paper trail that feels unsafe. Results don't circulate; conversations with providers stay sealed. Households here span from single people to three generations under one roof, and the affordability that keeps people rooted also means medical costs matter. Testing sites listed on this page reflect that reality, services scaled to fit actual budgets, not inflated clinic prices.
Getting there
At 6.68/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Simmesport 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 71369 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 71369 area around Simmesport: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Simmesport alone.
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Simmesport? 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 Avoyelles 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 Simmesport-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 Simmesport 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, Marksville, LA is close; compare it by distance against Louisiana Health Care Practitioners.
Private labs ~$24–$139, at-home kits $49+.
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 810 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.
Expedited partner therapy lets a provider treat a partner without an exam, where state law allows.
Just note your exposure dates and symptoms; for urine tests, hold off urinating ~1 hour before.
A clinic offers same-day answers and on-site treatment; an at-home kit trades that for privacy and convenience, both use real lab testing.
Yes, the CDC recommends STI screening early in pregnancy, since untreated infections can affect the baby.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.