House lawmakers, ACR push bill requiring Medicaid to cover CT lung cancer screenings
House lawmakers recently introduced a radiologist-supported bill requiring Medicaid programs to cover CT lung cancer screenings.
U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., on Nov. 20 reintroduced the bipartisan Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screening Act. It seeks to lower healthcare costs while expanding access to crucial cancer screenings in disadvantaged communities.
The bill would do so by prohibiting prior authorization for low-dose CT lung imaging, broadening coverage for tobacco cessation services, and increasing any related outreach and educational efforts.
“Only 18% of eligible individuals are screened annually across the country, exposing how much work remains to save lives through early detection,” Rep. Castor said in a statement Nov. 20. “By making lung cancer screenings easier to access and eliminating surprise bills and insurance red tape, this bipartisan bill will help neighbors catch cancer earlier, stay healthier and live longer.”
Castor and colleagues also previously introduced the Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screening Act in 2023, but it failed to find passage. This time around it has support from numerous lung cancer stakeholders including the American College of Radiology, American College of Chest Physicians, American Lung Association and others.
ACR voiced its support for the bill in a news update published Nov. 21. It noted lung cancer kills more people than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Private insurance and Medicare cover these annual screenings for those who meet eligibility requirements. However, less than 18.2% of those qualified are screened, with black patients more likely to die from the disease and Latinos likelier to be diagnosed with an advanced form.
“Wider screening can help address these disparities and save more lives from the nation’s leading cancer killer,” the college said in its update. “ACR continues to monitor and provide updates on the bill’s progress,” it added.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.