HIV testing in Iowa, where to get tested, free options, what to expect
The number
110 new HIV diagnoses in Iowa in 2022, 37% among Black residents, all preventable with timely testing and linkage to PrEP.
Ryan White Part B
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis
State ADAP
Iowa AIDS Drug Assistance Program
Income cap 400% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies
Where to get tested in Iowa
3,100 people are living with HIV in Iowa, and 37% of new diagnoses in 2022 were among Black residents. Getting tested is the first step, the CDC recommends at least one HIV test for every adult 13-64, and annual testing for anyone sexually active with more than one partner or injecting drugs. Rapid tests return results in about 20 minutes from a fingerstick; laboratory tests take a few days but catch infections sooner after exposure (as early as 10 days with a nucleic-acid test).
Where to test for free in Iowa: every county health department runs an STI / HIV testing clinic, and Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis contracts with community-based organizations to operate walk-in rapid testing with evening and Saturday hours. No ID or insurance is required at these sites. Confidentiality is protected, state law requires public-health HIV testing results to stay out of your medical record unless you authorize release, and anonymous testing (no name collected) is available at most community sites.
What to expect: a pre-test conversation about risk and what a positive result would mean, the test itself (either fingerstick or blood draw), and post-test counseling. If the rapid test is reactive, the counselor draws blood for a confirmatory Western blot or antigen/antibody test. If you're positive, you'll be linked to a Ryan White Part C clinic for same-week HIV primary care and ADAP enrollment if you qualify by income.
The Iowa HIV info line is 1-515-281-7124; staff can point you to the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, and help you navigate insurance or no-insurance options. Long-time Black residents name Primary Health Care Inc. (PHC) and University of Iowa HIV Specialty Clinic as the local institutions that show up consistently, both are listed below.
Primary Health Care Inc. (PHC). Primary Health Care Inc. in Des Moines is the Ryan White Part C grantee for central Iowa, serving about 1,700 people living with HIV and operating the Engebretsen HIV clinic at the Franklin Health Center, the state's highest-volume rapid-testing site.
University of Iowa HIV Specialty Clinic. The UI HIV Specialty Clinic in Iowa City is the Ryan White Part C grantee for eastern Iowa, with a telehealth outreach clinic that rotates monthly through Davenport, Waterloo, Dubuque, and Sioux City.
For Black families in Iowa
In Iowa, 37% of new 2022 HIV diagnoses were among Black residents. That figure reflects unequal access to testing more than underlying risk: a Black person in Iowa waits longer for an HIV diagnosis on average than a white peer, and late diagnoses translate directly into later treatment starts and worse outcomes. The community organizations listed below, particularly those flagged as Black-community anchors on the directory, operate rapid-testing sites specifically designed to close that wait-time gap.
Named HIV testing + PrEP sites in Iowa
Where to get help in Iowa
- Iowa HIV info line: 1-515-281-7124, staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis landing page: https://hhs.iowa.gov/public-health/hiv-sti-hepatitis.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Iowa: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/ia/.
- State health data for Iowa: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/iowa/.
- Iowa Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/iowa/ for eligibility + enrollment.
- CDC NPIN testing-site finder: gettested.cdc.gov accepts a zip code and returns every free + low-cost HIV testing site within 50 miles.
References & primary sources
- Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of HIV, STI, and Hepatitis: https://hhs.iowa.gov/public-health/hiv-sti-hepatitis.
- CDC HIV Surveillance Report 2022: cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html. Source for state-level new diagnoses and race-stratified counts.
- HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantee list: ryanwhite.hrsa.gov/grants/part-b.
- NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project 2024 Annual Report: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project. Source for ADAP income cap + enrollment + PrEP-DAP data.
- AIDSVu state profile: aidsvu.org/state/iowa/.
Data refreshed: