Women will soon be able to do at-home pap smears – and most insurance providers will have to cover it starting Jan. 1, 2027.
The more accessible alternative to the pelvic exam performed in doctors’ offices was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May and recently endorsed by an agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the New York Times. The new test allows women to use a tampon-like device to gently swab the wall of the vagina and then mail the sample to a lab.
Pap smears test for human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
The new guidance has been reinforced by the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an advisory group that decides which preventive services insurance companies have to cover.
The at-home test from Teal Health currently costs $99 with insurance ($249 without), but the new guidelines will require providers to cover the complete cost, according to SELF.
Cervical cancer was once a leading cause of death from cancer among American women, but medical experts hope that the self-collection method will help eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat – especially for women in rural areas who may not have easy access to specialists.
Current guidelines recommend that, once they hit age 30, women should start getting screened for HPV every five years. Women ages 21 to 29 should be screened every three years.
