UnitedHealthcareMedium ImpactCoverage

Medicaid: New cervical cancer screening guidelines

Published June 3, 2026Effective February 5, 2026

AI Summary

New Medicaid cervical cancer screening guidelines now allow patient-collected hrHPV testing for women aged 30-65 and establish hrHPV testing every 5 years as the preferred method over cytology alone. These changes align with HEDIS technical specifications and allow self-collected samples to count toward quality reporting.

Action Required

Immediately: Billing team must update encounter forms and EMR templates to reflect new cervical cancer screening options including patient-collected hrHPV testing for women 30-65. Update quality reporting procedures to include self-collected hrHPV samples for HEDIS measures. Educate providers on new 5-year hrHPV testing intervals versus 3-year cytology schedules.

Plan Types

Medicaid

Specialties

ob-gyn, family-medicine, internal-medicine, general-practice