Piper Jaffray analyst William Quirk noted that CMS announced that it will cover combined Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, and pap smear testing once every five years. Quirk views the coverage decision as a long-term negative for pap smear volumes since it is likely to expand testing intervals, noting that current guidelines call for pap smears every 3 years. He views the news as mixed for HPV volumes, saying the interval expansion may be offset by an increased attachment rate. Among the providers of such tests, the firm has Overweight ratings on Becton Dickinson (BDX) and Hologic (HOLX) and a Neutral rating on QIAGEN (QGEN).