Guardant Health said Carelon Healthcare Services will cover its Shield blood test for colorectal cancer screening starting Nov. 15, expanding access through Carelon’s medical benefit management footprint. Guardant estimates the updated policy will provide totally covered lives for Shield to roughly 90 million patients, or about 75% of eligible colorectal cancer screening patients, across 26 states. The coverage applies to average-risk patients above age 45. Shield is a noninvasive blood test using methylation partitioning to detect colorectal cancer–associated alterations in cell-free DNA. Guardant said this follows earlier inclusion of the test in American Cancer Society guidelines, signaling continued commercialization momentum for liquid biopsy-based screening. The move matters because payer coverage is a gating factor for broad uptake of blood-based screening, particularly when screening programs target earlier detection and higher participation rates.