Weekly Health Compliance Briefing

January 14, 2026

While we do our best to provide timely updates, it is possible that the information shared in the newsletter may change after our publication deadline.

Health

HRSA Updates Guidelines to Recommend At-Home Screening for Cervical Cancer
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has updated its guidelines to include self-collection testing for cervical cancer screening for women aged 30-65 with average risk. Cervical cancer can be detected through a variety of tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The HRSA will now allow patients aged 30-65 to perform self-collection of the high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) test in lieu of collection by a health care provider. Though women 30-65 now have the option to do self-collection testing, they retain the ability to have the test(s) done in-office. For women aged 21-29, the guidelines still recommend in-office cervical cancer screening. This recommendation was shared in a notice published in the Federal Register and was made “to reflect the new evidence and developments supporting the expansion of options for cervical cancer screening through patient-collected hrHPV testing.” The FDA approved self-collection tests in 2024 and 2025, and the American Cancer Society also updated its cervical cancer screening guidelines in December 2025 to include self-collection as a screening option. Most group health plans must start covering the cost of at-home testing for cervical cancer with no cost-sharing starting in January 2027. Under the Affordable Care Act, preventive care and screenings in the HRSA guidelines are required to be covered by plans without cost-sharing. The HRSA update also adds language to ensure plans will cover the cost of additional testing to rule out cancer, including cytology, biopsy colposcopy, extended genotyping, and dual stain.

CDC Changes Childhood Vaccine Schedule
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reduced the recommended childhood vaccine schedule by reducing the number of recommended shots for children. Effective immediately, the CDC will recommend vaccines for 11 diseases, down from 17. The vaccines for the other six diseases will be recommended for “high-risk” children only, or under a framework called “shared decision making” (which means that parents or guardians and pediatricians may jointly decide which vaccines make sense for a certain child to get based on their risks and exposures). The CDC maintained its recommendations for 11 childhood vaccines: measles, mumps, and rubella; whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria; the bacterial disease known as Hib; pneumonia; polio; chickenpox; and human papillomavirus, or HPV. The CDC has issued a fact sheet with more details. The fact sheet makes it clear that “All immunizations recommended by the CDC as of December 31, 2025, will continue to be fully covered by Affordable Care Act insurance plans and federal insurance programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Vaccines for Children program. Families will not have to purchase them out of pocket.” Note that a lawsuit challenging these changes from a coalition of medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the Infectious Disease Society of America was filed the day after the changes were made in federal court in Massachusetts