ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILLINOIS – The latest guidelines from the nation’s largest association of pediatricians say that the health benefits from male circumcision outweigh the risks. Monday’s announcement was the American Academy of Pediatrics’ first policy statement on the issue since 1999. In that statement, the association stopped short of recommending routine circumcision for males. This time the report said that, based on current medical evidence, insurance companies should pay the cost.

The new policy was published in the August 27 issue of the journal Pediatrics. A task force reviewed data from 1,000 studies between 1995 and 2010, and found that male circumcision offers numerous preventive benefits, including major reduction in the risk of male urinary tract infections, as well as lower risk of cancer, heterosexually-acquired HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Based on current rates, an increasing number of parents are choosing to skip the procedure. An analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that U.S. circumcisions fell from about 63 percent of newborn boys in 1999 to 55 percent in 2010.

During the 1980s, that rate was about 79 percent of newborn boys. According to the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the 20-year decline may have already contributed to about $2 billion in additional medical costs, for care related to treating infections and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) throughout a male’s life.