Overview
- Since April 2026 statutory health insurance has covered annual low-dose CT scans for eligible high-risk smokers as a national screening benefit.
- About two million people are estimated eligible under rules that limit the program to current and former heavy smokers aged 50 to 75 who smoked at least 25 years and meet a roughly 15 pack-year threshold.
- Access requires a GP or internist to confirm eligibility and refer patients to radiology practices where only specially trained radiologists may perform screenings and suspicious scans must be second-read and sent to lung-cancer centers.
- Experts cite modeling that finds screening could prevent roughly five deaths per 1,000 women and six per 1,000 men while causing a much smaller number of radiation-related cancers and producing false positives and some overdiagnosis.
- Wider availability is being rolled out in phases because the G-BA and other bodies are still completing certification and training, and authorities urge combining screening with smoking-cessation support and prompt evaluation of persistent respiratory symptoms.