# Medicare NCD 210.1: prostate cancer screening tests

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/medicare-ncd-210-1/  
OnCo record `medicare-ncd-210-1` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Medicare pays for one screening PSA blood test and one screening digital rectal examination a year for men aged 50 and over.

## Summary

United States, Medicare National Coverage Determination 210.1, version 2, effective 19 June 2006, under section 4103 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. It covers two screening procedures for men who have attained age 50, each "at a frequency of once every 12 months" with at least 11 months passed since the last Medicare-covered test: a screening digital rectal examination, performed by a doctor of medicine or osteopathy or by a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or certified nurse midwife authorised under state law; and a screening prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, ordered by one of those practitioners who is responsible for using the result in the beneficiary's care.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: NCD 210.1; Medicare PSA screening coverage; Prostate Cancer Screening Tests
- Tags: us

## Sources

- CMS Medicare Coverage Database: the NCD: https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/ncd.aspx?ncdid=268&ncdver=2
- CMS Coverage API: the NCD text as data: https://api.coverage.cms.gov/v1/data/ncd?ncdid=268&ncdver=2

## Connected records

- cancers: [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- technologies: [PSA and MRI-first prostate cancer screening](https://onco.cc/technologies/prostate-screening-psa-mri/)
- institutions: [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)](https://onco.cc/institutions/cms/)
- terms: [PSA (prostate-specific antigen)](https://onco.cc/terms/psa/)

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