Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) have written a letter urging the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicare coverage for low-dose CT screening of patients at high risk of developing lung cancer.
The bipartisan letter was signed by 45 senators, according to the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), which applauded the letter.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in the U.S., but its death toll could be reduced if Medicare beneficiaries are provided with the same CT screening exam already available to many individuals with private health insurance, AMIC said.
Lung cancer screening is ideally suited to Medicare patients, inasmuch as the median age of diagnosis is 70 years, and it's essential that Medicare patients have access to it, the organization said in a statement.
