Medicare Expands Coverage of High-Tech Lung Cancer Screening

Medicare is expanding eligibility for a high-tech lung cancer screening test by lowering the starting age for treatment from 55 to 50 and reducing the necessary tobacco smoking history from at least 30 packs per year to at least 20 per day, the Biden administration announced Thursday.

The national coverage determination by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services authorizes updated Medicare coverage for low-dose computed tomography, or LDCT, which is designed to provide early detection of non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related adult deaths in the U.S., and LDCT is the only recommended ...