•November 18, 2015•

Patients with a history of smoking may get tested for lung cancer, and that test is now covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid.

Carle has offered low-dose CT screenings for lung cancer since 2013. Starting this past February, most insurance plans began to cover the test.

People need to talk with their insurance provider to see whether LDCT is covered by their plan. LDCT uses a low dose of radiation, which protects the patients while it identifies potential lung cancer early.

“Before low-dose CT screening, most lung cancers were diagnosed after the tumor had grown quite large and possibly spread. At that point, the disease is very aggressive and hard to treat,” said radiologist Juan Jimenez, MD. “Thanks to LDCT testing, we can now screen patients’ lungs with the chance to discover and treat cancer in its early stages.”

“Low-dose CT screening can help save lives,” said Magesh Sundaram, MD, medical director of Carle Cancer Center. He added, “If we can catch the cancer early, the patient has a better chance of survival or even a cure.”

LDCT is for people who are at a high risk to develop lung cancer. High-risk patients are:     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.