Trend of Non-contrast Chest Computed Tomography Use in the Lung Cancer Screening Era: SEER-Medicare 2008–2016

Excerpt

After the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated the efficacy of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening in August 2011,¹ the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended this procedure in December 2013 (Grade B).² Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers were required to cover LDCT starting in January 2014, yet the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) did not reimburse LDCT until February 2015.³ To date, little is known about how dissemination of evidence, guidelines, and reimbursement policy affected physicians’ practice. We hypothesized that physicians ordered non-contrast chest CT (NCCCT) instead of LDCT before the Common Procedure Terminology (CPT) code of LDCT became available in 2015. We also anticipated this would change after Medicare reimbursed LDCT. …