Cancer Screening in New York State

According to the American Cancer Society 2025 Facts & Figures Report, New York will have an estimated 123,430 people diagnosed with cancer and 31,190 will die from the disease.

New York State will see:

The legislation that New York State will be working on in the 2025 Legislative Session that relates to cancer screening is listed below.

Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate for a restoration of $2.5 million in funding for the New York State Cancer Services Program, the state breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening and treatment program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women and men administered by the New York State Department of Health. The increase would bring the total annualized appropriation to $22,325,000.

Lung Cancer: Despite the effectiveness of lung cancer screening, uptake has been low, with only about 6.5% of the 8.5 million eligible individuals nationwide getting screened. Research shows that barriers to screening for individuals who need preventive services are contributing to lung cancer being the number one cause of cancer deaths.
- ACS CAN will advocate for the passage of legislation to require all insurance plans, including traditional Medicaid, to provide a comprehensive benefit for lung cancer screening including all follow-up testing according to recommended guidelines, without enrollee cost sharing or other barriers.
- Lung cancer is the only form of cancer that can be detected early through routine screening where prior authorization is required prior to a patient getting screened. ACS CAN will advocate for legislation to reform prior authorization for lung cancer screening to ensure that it should be as timely, efficient and standardized as possible.
- ACS CAN will advocate for legislation to add lung cancer to the list of cancers for which treatment can be provided by the NYS Medicaid Cancer Treatment Program. Currently only breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer are included.

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