HPV, or Human Papillomavirus, is a very common virus transmitted through sexual activity. There are over 150 different strains of HPV, and it is the high risk HPV strains that are responsible for about 70% of cases of cervical cancer.

About 75% to 80% of sexually active adults are estimated to have had an HPV infection at some point in their lives. For most, the virus clears on its own without treatment.

It usually takes having a persistent HPV infection for 10 or more years for pre-cancer or cancer to develop. Routine screening and follow-up is the only way to know for sure whether you have persistent HPV.

Cervical cancer is a very slow growing disease. And if caught early is almost always treatable. However, most women do not have symptoms. Finding out whether or not you have HPV is an important step in preventing and treating cervical cancer.

Consultation

Anyone who requests a home HPV test will be charged a $30 consultation fee. This covers your online medical consultation by a Nurx medical provider and includes unlimited messaging about your HPV test with our medical team for one year — so you can ask questions at any time during that period. At this time, we do not submit claims to insurance for this medical consult fee.

Home Testing Kit

For those without health insurance, you will be charged a flat fee of $79.

For those with health insurance, you will initially be charged $23 for the cost of shipping and the testing kit (not including the $30 consultation fee). Once your tests have been processed by our partner lab, they will bill your insurance and you will be responsible for any out-of-pocket costs (beyond the $23) including copays and deductibles associated with your plan. Your out of pocket cost also depends on whether your insurance plan is in-network or out of network with our partner lab.

*BLUECROSS PATIENTS PLEASE NOTE: BlueCross has changed their policies with our partner lab and is no longer processing patient claims in a way compatible with our telehealth platform for patients to exercise in-network benefits with the at-home testing kits. We're sorry this changed happened. We are actively working towards a solution. In the meantime, claims will likely be processed as out of network and result in a $99 bill.

Most of the time HPV does not cause any symptoms. However, certain HPV strains can cause genital warts, small painless growths that can grow on the vulva, penis or anus. Our home testing kit does not test for the strains that cause genital warts.

A Pap Smear requires that you go to your healthcare provider’s office and receive a speculum exam. This enables your healthcare provider to collect cells from inside of your cervix, which are then observed under a microscope by a cytologist or pathologist. Abnormal cervical cells indicate a potential for cervical cancer and require close follow up by a clinician.

A HPV test only requires that a swab sample is collected from inside the vagina, close to but not in the cervix. The sample is screened for the high risk strains of HPV that typically cause cervical cancer.

If high risk HPV DNA is present, a pap smear or a colposcopy is usually recommended. These tests are used to determine whether there are cervical cell changes, and if any are discovered your doctor will recommend a treatment plan.

HPV can be transmitted through many types of sexual activity and genital contact. It can also be spread through sharing sex toys or non-penetrative interaction, like body rubbing.

Often cervical cancer does not have symptoms, and many symptoms of cervical cancer can be caused by other things. If you have any unusual symptoms such as unexplained bleeding, abdominal pain or swelling, or weight loss, reach out to your Nurx medical team or your in-person healthcare provider.

The test kit screens for 14 high-risk strains of the virus: HPV16 and HPV18, which cause the vast majority of cervical cancer cases – and 12 additional high risk types.

No. Having a positive HPV test does not mean the person has pre-cancer or cancer. But it does mean there is potential risk, which should be monitored.

We recommend you wait at least 2 days after your period ends to complete your home HPV test. This is because blood from your period can interfere with the lab’s ability to detect HPV on your sample.

If your results are negative, this means the lab did not detect high risk HPV. Your risk of cervical cancer in the near future (next 3 years) is very low. Because of this, you likely do not need a pap smear or another HPV test for 3 years. However, if you develop unusual symptoms we would recommend you follow up with for further testing.

If your results are positive for 1 or more of the strains of high risk HPV this means you are at increased risk for cervical cancer, and we would recommend you follow up with your local healthcare provider, gynecologist or Planned Parenthood for additional screening, including a cervical pap smear or a colposcopy.

If you have a personal history of cervical cancer, this home test is not an ideal choice for you. We would recommend you have regular follow-up with an in-person healthcare provider for screening and monitoring to ensure there is not a recurrence.

Our partner lab will process our home HPV test samples. Our lab partners are HIPAA compliant and fully licensed CAP and CLIA-certified.