U.S. Supports Circumcision Abroad, Should Do Same at Home

Article here. Excerpt:

'The U.S. government is justifiably proud of its leadership abroad funding male circumcision as a way to prevent HIV infections. The president’s AIDS relief program boasts of having provided more than 1 million circumcisions in 14 African countries.

The record of government support for male circumcision within the U.S., however, is nothing to crow about. More and more states (18 so far) are dropping Medicaid coverage for routine infant male circumcision, contributing to a decline in rates from 79 percent throughout the 1970s to 55 percent in 2010. This has occurred even as evidence of the medical benefits of the procedure has stacked up.

The Medicaid cutbacks are driven by budget pressure, which has also caused some private insurers to stop coverage. These are penny-wise, pound-foolish decisions. In an analysis published Monday, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine conclude that every infant circumcision that is not performed results in $313 in extra health-care expenses even after accounting for the procedure’s cost of about $291.'