Carelon Health Services will add Guardant Health’s Shield blood test to its colorectal cancer screening coverage guidelines effective Nov. 15, 2026, expanding commercial coverage to approximately 90 million people ages 45 and older, according to Guardant. The company says this represents about 75% of the U.S. population eligible for average-risk CRC screening and marks another major expansion of coverage for the FDA-approved blood-based screening test.
Shield is intended for average-risk adults 45 and older and can be completed through a routine blood draw; patients with a positive result should be referred for colonoscopy. Guardant reports that more than 200,000 Shield tests have been performed in real-world settings, with studies cited by the company showing more than 90% screening adherence.