Long Beach health officials, faced with cutbacks in federal funding, warned Tuesday that free tests it offered for sexually transmitted diseases were cut last month.
The $1.3 million rollback, experts say, will surely undermine city efforts to manage the spread of disease and could reverse a recent downturn in the number of those who test positive.
City services were shuttered once money ran out as of July 1. These include the city’s mobile testing unit, services at the Ron Arias Health Equity Center in North Long Beach and prevention services like access to PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis). Nine city health workers were affected by the cuts. A health department spokesperson said they are “actively looking” to place workers elsewhere.
Dr. Anissa Davis, the city health officer, described it as a major loss for the community.
“This is an important public health action that we have been taking for a very long time,” Davis said. “We were very committed to this, and so it’s been a very big disappointment to have the funding be decimated to this degree.”
As of May 2025, more than 3,900 people in Long Beach are HIV positive, according to city data. More than 500 people received their first diagnosis in the past five years, with rates hovering around the same amount each year. Nearly 86% of those who test positive were born as a male and were between the ages of 30 and 39.
Long Beach has among the highest rates of HIV per capita in California, according to state data.
In a July 17 letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Long Beach Congressman Robert Garcia, now the ranking member of the Congressional Oversight Committee, warned the decision to cut test funding threatened to “upend decades of progress and scientific advancements.”
Garcia added that delays in funding to Los Angeles County in May jeopardized nearly $20 billion in HIV prevention funding at 39 community health agencies. That funding was restored last month, but not before some health care providers had to “cancel contracts, reduce services and stop providing care.”
The domestic response to HIV in the United States costs more than $28 billion annually. Without continued funding, lawmakers warn it could lead to more than 143,000 additional HIV cases in the U.S. within five years and about 127,000 additional deaths from HIV and AIDS-related symptoms.
Davis said the Health Department’s Sexual Health Clinic (2525 Grand Ave.) will continue to offer anonymous tests priced based on income. Appointments are encouraged, though walk-in services are also available on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to provider availability.
The Department is also compiling a full list of available testing and screening services. People are encouraged to visit here for more information.