Posted: 02/25/09
Increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS and the virus that can cause cervical cancer may await uncircumcised boys due largely to Medicaid and discount health insurance plans that don't cover the procedure, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health.Currently, Medicaid in 16 states doesn't pay for the procedure, including Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Thousands of male infants aren't being circumcised each year due to the cost, and researchers estimate that if all states covered circumcision the percentage of male babies who get the procedure would rise from 56 percent to 62 percent. Researchers felt that by Medicaid not covering the procedure they are labeling it as an invaluable procedure.
University of Illinois at Chicago Epidemiology professor, Robert C. Bailey, said, "The poor are robbed of a chance to make a choice about circumcision because of the lack of funding. It's another way in which our health system is increasing inequality across the population."
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