LCA asks states to adopt low-dose CT screening

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) has concluded its nationwide campaign to urge state health officials to include coverage for low-dose CT screening for those at risk for lung cancer in their benchmark health plans.

The LCA said it performed its nationwide outreach to every state and territory that has established a state health insurance exchange pursuant to the Affordable Care Act.

The alliance is promoting low-dose CT screening based on the National Cancer Institute’s National Lung Screening Trial, which concluded that low-dose CT screening provided a mortality benefit of at least 20%, compared to x-ray, among former and current smokers 55 to 74 years old.

The current overall mortality benefit for mammography is 15%.