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United States Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations 

On September 17, 2025, California updated state law to ensure Californians have access to life-saving vaccines and screenings.  

We want you to know there’s a strong public health and medical community that’ll continue to stand together to:  

  • Share the data and evidence people need to make healthy choices. 
  • Provide science-based recommendations.  
  • Protect our communities. 

CDPH endorses the recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) as they stood on January 1, 2025. This endorsement includes a comprehensive list of evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, behavioral counseling, and preventive medications. The list contains the official recommendations of CDPH. These recommendations are mandated to be covered by insurers under Assembly Bill 144 (2025), as outlined in the California Health and Safety Code section 120164.

A & B Recommendations 

The USPSTF grades recommendations based on their strength and evidence basis.  Recommendations with a grade of “A” or “B” are​ recommended with high certainty of positive benefit.   

Grade A: The USPSTF recommends the service. There is high certainty that the net benefit is substantial. Suggestions for practice is to offer or provide this service.  

Grade B:  The USPSTF recommends the service. There is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial. Suggestions for practice is to offer or provide this service. ​

USPSTF A and B Recommendations as of January 1, 2025: 

Topic

Description ​

Grade

Release Date of Current Recommendation
Target Population

The USPSTF recommends 1-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked. 

B 

December 2019  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for anxiety disorders in adults, including pregnant and postpartum persons. 

B 

June 2023 

Adult, 

Postpartum 

people, 

Pregnant 

people, ​

Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for anxiety in children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years. 

B 

October 2022 

Adolescent, Pediatric 

The USPSTF recommends the use of low-dose aspirin (81 mg/day) as preventive medication after 12 weeks of gestation in persons who are at high risk for preeclampsia. See the Practice Considerations section for information on high risk and aspirin dose. 

B 

September 2021  

Pregnant ​people 

The USPSTF recommends screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria using urine culture in pregnant persons. 

B 

September 2019  

Pregnant people 

The USPSTF recommends that primary care clinicians assess women with a personal or family history of breast, ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer or who have an ancestry associated with breast cancer susceptibility 1 and 2 (BRCA1/2) gene mutations with an appropriate brief familial risk assessment tool. Women with a positive result on the risk assessment tool should receive genetic counseling and, if indicated after counseling, genetic testing. 

B 

August 2019  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians offer to prescribe risk-reducing medications, such as tamoxifen, raloxifene, or aromatase inhibitors, to women who are at increased risk for breast cancer and at low risk for adverse medication effects. 

B 

September 2019 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 40 to 74 years.  

B 

April 2024  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends providing interventions during pregnancy and after birth to support breastfeeding. 

B 

October 2016 

Postpartum people, 

Pregnant 

people, ​

 

The USPSTF recommends screening for cervical cancer every 3 years with cervical cytology alone in women aged 21 to 29 years. For women aged 30 to 65 years, the USPSTF recommends screening every 3 years with cervical cytology alone, every 5 years with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing alone, or every 5 years with hrHPV testing in combination with cytology (cotesting). See the Clinical Considerations section for the relative benefits and harms of alternative screening strategies for women 21 years or older. 

A 

August 2018 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for gonorrhea in all sexually active women 24 years or younger and in women 25 years or older who are at increased risk for infection. 

B 

September 2021  

Adolescent, Adult,  

Pregnant 

people, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for chlamydia in all sexually active women 24 years or younger and in women 25 years or older who are at increased risk for infection. 

B 

September 2021  

Adolescent, Adult,  

Pregnant 

people, Senior ​​

 

The USPSTF recommends screening for colorectal cancer in adults aged 45 to 49 years. See the "Practice Considerations" section and Table 1 for details about screening strategies. 

B 

May 2021  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for colorectal cancer in all adults aged 50 to 75 years. See the "Practice Considerations" section and Table 1 for details about screening strategies. 

A 

May 2021 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for depression in the adult population, including pregnant and postpartum persons, as well as older adults. 

B 

June 2023 

Adult, 

Postpartum people, 

Pregnant people, Senior

The USPSTF recommends screening for major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. 

B 

October 2022 

Adolescent, 

Pediatric 

The USPSTF recommends exercise interventions to prevent falls in community-dwelling adults 65 years or older who are at increased risk for falls. 

B 

June 2024 

Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that all persons planning to or who could become pregnant take a daily supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 to 800 mcg) of folic acid. 

A 

August 2023  

Adolescent, Adult 

The USPSTF recommends screening for gestational diabetes in asymptomatic pregnant persons at 24 weeks of gestation or after. 

B 

August 2021 

Pregnant 

people 

The USPSTF recommends offering or referring adults with cardiovascular disease risk factors to behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthy diet and physical activity. 

B 

November 2020 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians offer pregnant persons effective behavioral counseling interventions aimed at promoting healthy weight gain and preventing excess gestational weight gain in pregnancy. 

B 

May 2021 

Pregnant 

people 

The USPSTF recommends screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in adolescents and adults at increased risk for infection. See the Practice Considerations section for a description of adolescents and adults at increased risk for infection. 

B 

December 2020 

Adolescent, Adult 

The USPSTF recommends screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pregnant women at their first prenatal visit 

A 

July 2019 

Pregnant 

people  

The USPSTF recommends screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in adults aged 18 to 79 years. 

B 

March 2020 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians provide or refer children and adolescents 6 years or older with a high body mass index (BMI) (≥95th percentile for age and sex) to comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions. See the Practice Considerations section for more information about behavioral interventions. 

B 

June 2024 

Adolescent, Pediatric 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians screen for HIV infection in adolescents and adults aged 15 to 65 years. Younger adolescents and older adults who are at increased risk of infection should also be screened. See the Clinical Considerations section for more information about assessment of risk, screening intervals, and rescreening in pregnancy. 

A 

June 2019 

Adolescent, Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians screen for HIV infection in all pregnant persons, including those who present in labor or at delivery whose HIV status is unknown. 

A 

June 2019 

Pregnant 

people 

The USPSTF recommends screening for hypertension in adults 18 years or older with office blood pressure measurement (OBPM). The USPSTF recommends obtaining blood pressure measurements outside of the clinical setting for diagnostic confirmation before starting treatment. 

A 

April 2021 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for hypertensive disorders in pregnant persons with blood pressure measurements throughout pregnancy. 

B 

September 2023 

Pregnant people 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians screen for IPV in women of reproductive age and provide or refer women who screen positive to ongoing support services. 

B 

October 2018 

Adolescent, Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for LTBI in populations at increased risk. See the "Assessment of Risk" section for additional information on adults at increased risk. 

B 

May 2023  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. Screening should be discontinued once a person has not smoked for 15 years or develops a health problem that substantially limits life expectancy or the ability or willingness to have curative lung surgery. 

B 

March 2021  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends prophylactic ocular topical medication for all newborns to prevent gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum. 

A 

January 2019 

Newborn 

The USPSTF recommends screening for osteoporosis with bone measurement testing to prevent osteoporotic fractures in women 65 years and older.   

B 

June 2018 

Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for osteoporosis with bone measurement testing to prevent osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women younger than 65 years at increased risk of osteoporosis, as determined by a formal clinical risk assessment tool.   

B 

June 2018 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians provide or refer pregnant and postpartum persons who are at increased risk of perinatal depression to counseling interventions. 

B 

February 2019 

Postpartum people, 

Pregnant people 

The USPSTF recommends screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in adults aged 35 to 70 years who have overweight or obesity. Clinicians should offer or refer patients with prediabetes to effective preventive interventions. 

B 

August 2021 

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians prescribe preexposure prophylaxis using effective antiretroviral therapy to persons who are at increased risk of HIV acquisition to decrease the risk of acquiring HIV. See the Practice Considerations section for more information about identification of persons at increased risk and about effective antiretroviral therapy. 

A 

August 2023 

Adolescent, Adult 

The USPSTF recommends that primary care clinicians apply fluoride varnish to the primary teeth of all infants and children starting at the age of primary tooth eruption. 

B 

December 2021 

Pediatric 

The USPSTF recommends that primary care clinicians prescribe oral fluoride supplementation starting at age 6 months for children whose water supply is deficient in fluoride. 

B 

December 2021 

Pediatric 

The USPSTF strongly recommends Rh(D) blood typing and antibody testing for all pregnant women during their first visit for pregnancy-related care. 

A 

February 2004

Pregnant 

people 

The USPSTF recommends repeated Rh(D) antibody testing for all unsensitized Rh(D)-negative women at 24 to 28 weeks' gestation, unless the biological father is known to be Rh(D)-negative. 

B 

February 2004 

Pregnant 

people 

The USPSTF recommends behavioral counseling for all sexually active adolescents and for adults who are at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). See the Practice Considerations section for more information on populations at increased risk for acquiring STIs. 

B 

August 2020 

Adolescent, 

Adult 

The USPSTF recommends counseling young adults, adolescents, children, and parents of young children about minimizing exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for persons aged 6 months to 24 years with fair skin types to reduce their risk of skin cancer. 

B 

March 2018  

Pediatric, Adolescent,  Adult 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians prescribe a statin for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more CVD risk factors (i.e. dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking) and an estimated 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event of 10% or greater. 

B 

August 2022  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends early screening for syphilis infection in all pregnant women. 

A 

September 2018 

Pregnant people  

The USPSTF recommends screening for syphilis infection in persons who are at increased risk for infection. 

A 

September 2022  

Adolescent, Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians ask all adults about tobacco use, advise them to stop using tobacco, and provide behavioral interventions and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)--approved pharmacotherapy for cessation to nonpregnant adults who use tobacco. 

A 

January 2021  

Adult 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians ask all pregnant persons about tobacco use, advise them to stop using tobacco, and provide behavioral interventions for cessation to pregnant persons who use tobacco. 

A 

January 2021 

Adult, Pregnant people 

The USPSTF recommends that primary care clinicians provide interventions, including education or brief counseling, to prevent initiation of tobacco use among school-aged children and adolescents. 

B 

April 2020 

Pediatric, Adolescent 

The USPSTF recommends screening for unhealthy alcohol use in primary care settings in adults 18 years or older, including pregnant women, and providing persons engaged in risky or hazardous drinking with brief behavioral counseling interventions to reduce unhealthy alcohol use. 

B 

November 2018 

Adolescent, Adult,  

Pregnant people 

The USPSTF recommends screening by asking questions about unhealthy drug use in adults age 18 years or older. Screening should be implemented when services for accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and appropriate care can be offered or referred. (Screening refers to asking questions about unhealthy drug use, not testing biological specimens.) 

B 

June 2020 

Adult 

The USPSTF recommends vision screening at least once in all children aged 3 to 5 years to detect amblyopia or its risk factors. 

B 

September 2017  

Pediatric 

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians offer or refer adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) to intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions. 

B 

September 2018   
 

Adult, 

Senior 

*Recommendations have been updated since January 1, 2025 (see below) 

**Recommendations currently in review by the USPSTF 

USPSTF A and B recommendations updated after January 1, 2025: ​

There have been four updates to the USPSTF list of category A and B recommendations since January 1, 2025.  Upon review, these updates were deemed minor and continue to be consistent with evidence-based health guidelines and have been accepted by CDPH as standard of care. ​

Topic ​

Description 

Grade 

Release Date of Current Recommendation

Target 

Population 

The USPSTF recommends providing interventions or referrals, during pregnancy and after birth, to support breastfeeding. 

B 

April 2025  

Postpartum people, 

Pregnant people

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians screen for intimate partner violence (IPV) in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. See the "Practice Considerations" section for information on evidence-based multicomponent interventions and for information on IPV in men. 

B 

June 2025  

Adolescent, Adult, 

Postpartum 

people, 

Pregnant people 

The USPSTF recommends screening for osteoporosis to prevent osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women younger than 65 years who are at increased risk for an osteoporotic fracture as estimated by clinical risk assessment. See the "Practice Considerations" section for more information on risk assessment and screening tests. 

B 

January 2025  

Adult, Senior 

The USPSTF recommends screening for osteoporosis to prevent osteoporotic fractures in women 65 years or older. See the "Practice Considerations" section for more information on screening tests. 

B 

January 2025  

Senior  

The USPSTF recommends early, universal screening for syphilis infection during pregnancy; if an individual is not screened early in pregnancy, the USPSTF recommends screening at the first available opportunity. 

A 

May 2025  

Pregnant people ​


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