CMS has expanded Medicare coverage to allow physician assistants (PAs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to order all noninvasive colorectal cancer screening tests covered by Medicare. The change updates the national coverage determination for noninvasive biomarker tests, which previously limited coverage to tests ordered by physicians.
The updated policy covers RNA-based stool tests, DNA-based stool tests, DNA-based blood tests and fecal occult blood tests. CMS reopened the coverage determination after new evidence emerged around stool-based RNA testing.