Cervical Cancer Prevention and Screening: Financial Issues
Financial issues can play an important role in whether or not women are screened for cervical cancer. Women with lower incomes and those without health insurance are less likely to be screened.
Many states ensure that private insurance companies, Medicaid, and public employee health plans pay for regular screening tests.
Other programs are also available to help provide financial assistance for women with lower incomes and those without insurance.
It's important to know that insurance coverage may or may not conform to American Cancer Society cancer screening guidelines.
Federal law
Coverage of cervical cancer screening tests is mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but that doesn’t apply to health plans that were in place before it was passed. You can find out the date your insurance plan started by contacting your health insurance plan administrator. If your plan started on or after September 23, 2010, it’s required to cover the recommended cervical cancer screening tests. If your plan started before September 23, 2010, it may still have coverage requirements mandated by your state, but each state is different.
Self-insured plans
Self-insured (or self-funded) plans pay employee health care costs from their own funds, even though they usually contract with another company to track and pay claims. You can find out if your health plan is self-insured by contacting your insurance administrator at work or reading your Summary of Plan Benefits.
These plans are governed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so most are required to cover cervical cancer screening.
Women who have self-insured based health insurance should check with their health plans to see what cervical cancer screening services are offered.
Medicaid
By statute or agency policy, Medicaid or public assistance programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia cover screening for cervical cancer either routinely or on a doctor’s recommendation. Please check with your state Medicaid office to learn more about what services are provided for cervical cancer screening.
Medicare
Medicare Part B covers tests used for cervical cancer screening, including a Pap test and pelvic exam every 2 years. For people at high risk for cervical or vaginal cancer, or if a woman is of childbearing age and has had an abnormal Pap test in the previous 3 years, Medicare covers screening every year.
Part B also covers human papillomavirus (HPV) tests once every 5 years for people ages 30 to 65.
This screening is provided without co-pay, co-insurance, or deductible as long as you go to a doctor that accepts Medicare.
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program
All states are making cervical cancer screening more available to women through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). This program provides breast and cervical cancer screening to women without health insurance for free or at very little cost. The NBCCEDP attempts to reach as many women in underserved communities as possible, including older women, women without health insurance and women who are members of racial and ethnic minorities.
Though the program is administered within each state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides support to each state program.
Each state’s Department of Health will have information on how to contact the nearest program participant. For more information on this program, you can also contact the CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or on the web at www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp.
If cervical cancer is detected during screening in this program, most states can now extend Medicaid benefits to these women to cover the costs of treatment.
To learn more about this program, see National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
HPV vaccine costs
Insurance plans cover the cost of the HPV vaccine in accordance with the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations. The HPV vaccine is also included in the federal Vaccine for Children (VFC) entitlement program, which covers vaccine costs for children and teens who don’t have insurance or who are underinsured.
- Written by
- References
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
CDC.gov. About VFC - The VFC Program: At a Glance. Accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/about/index.html on July 21, 2020.
HealthCare.gov. Preventive care benefits for women. Accessed at https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-women/ on July 21, 2020.
Medicare.gov. Cervical & vaginal cancer screenings. Accessed at https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/cervical-vaginal-cancer-screenings on July 21, 2020.
Last Revised: July 30, 2020
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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