Potential Complications of Lung Cancer Screening: Expense
Is CT screening expensive?
It depends on your medical insurance coverage.
If you have insurance coverage with Medicare, Medicaid or a private company and meet Medicare eligibility requirements,
-age between 55-80
– smoked 30 or more pack/years. (For example one pack/day for 30 years or 2 packs/day for 15 years)
– currently smoke or quit less than 15-years earlier
– have no symptoms of lung cancer
You should be eligible for first-dollar coverage for CT screening.
That is, you can be screened at no personal cost.
It is probable that in the near future, eligibility for first-dollar coverage will extend to those
-age 50-80
-20 pack/years of smoking.
Persons who do not meet eligibility criteria may have to pay out of pocket. Prices vary widely among centers. You will have to discuss with the nurse coordinator in your local center to get this information. In the author’s experience, the price for a CT screening exam varies between $100-500.
If a scan result is positive, further tests, including
repeat CT scan
PET scan
Needle biopsy
may be recommended. The cost of such exams and/or treatment costs would depend on the specific features of your personal medical insurance coverage.
Potential Complications of Lung Cancer Screening: False Negatives