Most health plans must cover at-home HPV tests starting in 2027

Cancer has become a top concern for employers in recent years, due not only to its impact on worker well-being, but also its effect on healthcare costs. In 2025 cancer was the top condition driving employers’ health costs, according to Business Group on Health’s healthcare strategy survey, followed by musculoskeletal and cardiovascular issues.

One way HR teams are working to address the disease’s financial impact is by expanding coverage of screenings for certain types of cancer, such as breast or colon cancer.

Starting next year, most health insurance plans will be required to cover a new type of screening for human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, due to guidelines that were recently updated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HHS endorses self-testing. The Health Resources and Services Administration, which operates within HHS, said on Jan. 5 that at-home tests were an acceptable form of HPV screening for women at an average risk level, in addition to those performed at a doctor’s office.

Additionally, the updated guidelines require most private insurance plans to cover self-administered tests for HPV without cost-sharing such as copayments or deductibles starting on Jan. 1, 2027. Insurers will be required to cover any follow-up tests needed to complete screening for cervical cancer, as well.

The Food and Drug Administration approved self-collection tests for HPV in 2024 and 2025, and the American Cancer Society updated its guidelines to include these screening options in December. Studies show that the self-administered tests are as effective at detecting HPV as those performed by clinicians.

Early detection is critical to boosting survival rates among cervical cancer patients, but a variety of barriers keep women from staying up-to-date with testing. Patients may avoid screening or follow-up testing due to cost concerns, scheduling challenges, or inability to take time off of work, for example, according to a draft report from the US Preventive Services Task Force. Fear of detection, embarrassment, or a lack of understanding may also prompt them to put off testing.

The at-home tests, coupled with these new guidelines, are designed to address some of these barriers.

HR’s role in cancer prevention. The updated guidelines may help inform HR teams’ cancer prevention strategies going forward. Just 11% of employers surveyed by Business Group of Health in 2025 said they planned to cover the FDA-approved at-home cervical cancer screenings this year, but that coverage rate seems likely to change with the insurer mandate taking effect in 2027.

Research shows that when workplaces promote cancer screenings, employees are more likely to get them. A 2024 meta-analysis of articles examining the effectiveness of such interventions for four different cancers, including cervical, showed that most of them resulted in a more than 30% change in knowledge or screening rates among workers.