The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging insurers to cover circumcisions, saying the health benefits outweigh the risks, the Associated Press reported. The pediatrician group updated its 13-year-old policy after new research showed the procedure lowers chances of infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections and penis cancer.
Moreover, boosting U.S. circumcision rates could save more than $4 billion in healthcare costs because of decreased illness and infections, the article noted. But rates may continue to decline, as insurers provide varying degrees of coverage and 18 states have ended Medicaid coverage altogether for circumcision. Article