Although Medicare has been covering colonoscopy for average-risk beneficiaries since July 2001, a study reported in the July-August issue of Health Affairs has found that fewer than half of the elderly are screened. Researchers examined the effect of Medicare reimbursement on the rate and disparity of colorectal cancer screening among the elderly in the United States.

Although Medicare coverage has alleviated the screening disparity between non-Hispanic whites and blacks, they write, the gap between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites has widened.