In passing the law, Illinois became one of four states to widen colonoscopy coverage beginning Jan 1. According to data from the National Cancer Institute reported in 2023, colon cancer was responsible for 7.8% of all new cancer cases in the U.S. and 8.6% of all cancer deaths.
By expanding coverage for colon cancer screenings, some states hope to see a decline in cancer rates among patients.
“This is great legislative advocacy for patients and I applaud the efforts and initiative of the Illinois General Assembly,” Omar Khokhar, MD, partner at Illinois GastroHealth in Bloomington, told Becker’s. “Colon cancer is preventable with early detection and anything that increases access will improve CRC-related morbidity, mortality and associated costs.”
