Kelcie Moseley-Morris, States Newsroom

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It had been a decade since Jess Deis’ last women’s wellness exam when Kentucky expanded Medicaid and she finally qualified for the state insurance program.

Physicians recommend a cervical cancer screening — also referred to as a Pap smear, which is a swab of the cervix — as part of a wellness exam once every three to five years for women between the ages of 21 and 65. Deis, 43, was in her last semester of nursing school in 2014 when the test came back with abnormal results. Her doctor ordered additional testing.

“Then I got a call on a Sunday evening from a physician letting me know I had cervical cancer and I needed to see a specialist,” Deis said.

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