The American College of Radiology (ACR) is sounding the alarm that some commercial payers may be requiring copayments for U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)-recommended preventive services, such as lung cancer screening with low-dose CT (LDCT).
"Lung Cancer Screening programs [have] alerted ACR that some payers are notifying imaging centers during prior authorization that cost sharing will apply for screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT)," the college said in a statement. "The payer action may be related to a recent Texas federal court ruling that invalidated the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement that USPSTF-approved preventive services be covered at no cost to the patient. However, the ruling has been appealed and it is not in effect; the College previously reported that it will continue to monitor this court ruling."
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
