The total U.S. healthcare system costs for initial cancer screenings in 2021 were an estimated $43 billion, according to a study published Aug. 5 in The Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute analyzed national healthcare survey data and cost resources data for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer screenings.
Screening for colon cancer represented approximately 64% of all total screening costs, with colonoscopy costs making up 55% of the total. Almost all of the cancer screening costs were attributed to private insurance (88.3%), with 8.5% attributed to Medicare and 3.2% attributed to Medicaid, uninsured patients or government programs, according to the study.
Limitations of the study include the self-reporting basis of the data, estimates not including follow-up costs after screening and variations of cost based on geographic location and providers.
"We screen for cancer because it works," Karen Knudsen, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society, told The New York Times. "The cost is small compared to the cost of being diagnosed with late-stage disease."