Lung cancer screening rates have barely budged in recent years, according to a new study, even though under the health law many people don鈥檛 have to pay anything out-of-pocket for them because the test is recommended by a panel of prevention experts.
In 2010, just 3.3 percent of eligible smokers surveyed said they had received a low-dose computed tomography scan in the past year to check for lung cancer. In 2015, the percentage had inched up to 3.9 percent, or 262,700 people out of 6.8 million who were eligible.
The analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey, a large, ongoing in-person federal survey conducted by the , was performed by researchers at the American Cancer Society and published online in last week.
Despite steady declines in smoking, lung cancer is the number one killer among cancers, accounting for annually.聽Smoking is linked to up to , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of medical experts, for current or former smokers between the ages of 55 and 80 who smoked for 鈥�30 pack years鈥� 鈥� the equivalent of a pack a day for 30 years 鈥� and currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years.聽Under the health law, health plans have to cover preventive services that are recommended by the task force without charging consumers for them. Medicare for eligible beneficiaries, but coverage for Medicaid enrollees varies by state.
More than half of smokers that met the task force guidelines for screening were uninsured or had Medicaid, the federal/state health program for lower income people, the study found. For these people, the cost of the test, which can run several hundred dollars, could be a deterrent to screening, said Ahmedin Jemal, a vice president at the American Cancer Society and the study鈥檚 lead author.
But there are likely other reasons as well, Jemal said, including a 鈥渒nowledge gap鈥� among poorer, less educated people about the benefits of lung cancer screening. Physicians may also have a knowledge gap, he said. In one study cited in their report, nearly two-thirds of physicians surveyed didn鈥檛 know that low-dose CT screening should be done annually in people who are at high risk for lung cancer. In addition, it can be challenging to locate a medical center that has extensive experience with lung cancer screening and follow-up.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not as common as just going to any hospital in your neighborhood,鈥� Jemal said.
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