The Milliman study, published in the April 2012 issue of Health Affairs, examined the costs and benefits of providing lung cancer screening through low-dose CT to commercially insured high-risk individuals, targeting smokers and long-term former smokers ages 50 to 64 years.

Based on current commercial reimbursement rates for treatment, researchers concluded CT screening would cost approximately $1 per insured member per month in 2012. The study also estimated that the cost per life-year saved would be less than $19,000, which is less than screening for cervical and breast cancer and comparable to the cost per life-year saved of screening for colorectal cancer.