How Kentucky's program works
Unlike the 5 CDC screening programs elsewhere on this site, there is no single federal program that pays for STD testing nationwide, so Kentucky does not have one phone number or one program name to call. Free and low-cost testing instead runs through three separate channels.
Community health centers. Every HRSA-funded Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Kentucky is required by federal law (42 USC 254b) to serve patients regardless of ability to pay, with fees reduced on a sliding scale for uninsured and low-income patients. Most FQHCs offer confidential STI and HIV testing as part of routine primary care. See our directory of FQHCs in Kentucky at /clinics/ky/.
State and local health department clinics. Kentucky's state and county health departments run their own STD clinics, usually free or low-cost and confidential; many accept walk-ins. Contact your county health department directly, since hours and walk-in policy vary by location.
CDC GetTested. The CDC's own locator at gettested.cdc.gov finds HIV, STD, and hepatitis testing sites in Kentucky by ZIP code, and flags which sites offer free or low-cost testing.
All three routes are confidential: results are not shared with an employer, and in most cases not with family, without your consent. None of them requires a specific symptom or reason before you can ask for a test. Chlamydia and gonorrhea in particular often cause no symptoms at all, which is why routine testing, not waiting until something feels wrong, is how most infections actually get caught.
If you qualify for Medicaid, Kentucky Medicaid covers STI testing and treatment as a standard preventive benefit. See our Medicaid navigator at /medicaid/kentucky/.
For Black families in Kentucky
Most community health centers offer confidential STD and HIV testing on a sliding scale, and access matters most where the burden is highest: Black Americans account for roughly a third of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis diagnoses nationwide despite being 12.6% of the population (CDC, Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance, 2023).
For Black residents of Kentucky, testing that is confidential, free, and does not require insurance removes two of the biggest barriers to getting tested. Community health centers and the state health department both offer STI testing without an appointment at many locations; the CDC's GetTested locator lists every option in Kentucky by ZIP code so you can compare hours and cost before you go.
Where to get help in Kentucky
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Kentucky: every FQHC takes Medicaid, charges a sliding scale for uninsured patients, and participates in free-screening pathways. See our FQHC directory for this state at /clinics/ky/.
- Primary Care providers in Kentucky: our provider directory filters to this state and specialty. See /providers/ky/.
- Medicaid in Kentucky: if you qualify for Medicaid, the free-screening pathway extends to treatment if cancer is found (BCCPTA, Public Law 106-354). See our Medicaid navigator at /medicaid/kentucky/.
- Black Health outcomes in Kentucky: see state-level race-stratified data at /health/kentucky/.
- CDC GetTested: the CDC's national locator for free and low-cost HIV, STD, and hepatitis testing sites by ZIP code: gettested.cdc.gov.
References & primary sources
- CDC GetTested locator: gettested.cdc.gov.
- CDC Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance, 2023.
- 42 USC 254b, Health Center Program statute (HRSA sliding fee scale requirement).
Data refreshed:
Free and low-cost screening by city in Kentucky
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Other free screening programs in Kentucky
Where to go next in Kentucky
The program is the funding. These are the places in Kentucky that do the screening, and the coverage behind them.