Traditional Medicare does not cover the Galleri test. The multi-cancer early detection blood test, which screens for more than 50 types of cancer, is not yet FDA-approved, and most insurance plans, including Medicare, do not reimburse for it. If you want the test today, you’ll typically pay $749 out of pocket. There are, however, a couple of narrow pathways where Medicare-related coverage exists or is emerging.
Why Medicare Doesn’t Cover It Yet
Medicare generally requires a test to have FDA approval before it will provide coverage. The Galleri test received an FDA Breakthrough Device designation back in 2018, which fast-tracks the review process but is not the same as approval. GRAIL, the company behind Galleri, submitted its final premarket approval application to the FDA in January 2026. Until that application clears, the test remains in regulatory limbo, and traditional Medicare has no mechanism to pay for it as a routine screening.
This isn’t unique to Medicare. The American Cancer Society notes that most private insurance plans also decline to cover multi-cancer detection tests at this stage. The cost of any follow-up testing triggered by a positive result may also fall on you, since insurers haven’t established clear policies for downstream diagnostics from these newer screens.
The Clinical Trial Exception
There is one way to get the Galleri test under Medicare without paying out of pocket: enrolling in a CMS-approved clinical study. GRAIL sponsors a trial called the “Multi-Cancer Early Detection Real-World Evidence Program in the Medicare Population,” which CMS approved in May 2023 as a Category B investigational device study. Under Category B designation, Medicare can cover the cost of the test and related care for enrolled participants.
Availability depends on whether your provider participates in the study and whether you meet the enrollment criteria. Not every clinic or health system offers access to this trial, so you’d need to ask your doctor or check ClinicalTrials.gov (the study’s identifier is NCT05673018) to see if there are active enrollment sites near you.
Medicare Advantage Plans Are Starting to Move
While traditional Medicare remains a no, some Medicare Advantage plans are beginning to offer Galleri coverage as a supplemental benefit. Priority Health in Michigan became one of the first Medicare Advantage insurers to include the test, offering it on its 2026 PriorityMedicare Thrive and Thrive Plus wellness plans with a copay. Medicare Advantage plans have more flexibility than traditional Medicare to add extra benefits, so this type of coverage could expand to other plans over time.
If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, it’s worth checking your specific plan’s supplemental benefits for 2026 and beyond. These offerings vary widely by insurer and region, and having the Galleri test listed as a benefit in one plan doesn’t mean it’s available across all of that insurer’s products.
What the Test Costs Without Coverage
For most people right now, the Galleri test is a cash-pay expense. GRAIL bills patients directly, and the typical price is $749. Some health systems charge an additional fee for the blood draw itself, often around $30. There’s no payment plan widely advertised, though individual providers may offer options.
Keep in mind that the sticker price covers only the initial screen. If your result comes back with a cancer signal detected, your doctor will order imaging, biopsies, or other follow-up tests to confirm and locate the cancer. Those downstream costs can add up quickly, and since the triggering test isn’t covered, insurers may or may not treat the follow-up workup as they would any other diagnostic claim. This is still an unresolved gray area for most plans.
Who the Test Is Designed For
Galleri is recommended for adults aged 50 and older who have an elevated risk for cancer. You’re not eligible if you’re currently pregnant, 21 or younger, or undergoing active cancer treatment. People with a history of cancer can take the test as long as they completed treatment at least five years ago (with the exception of common skin cancers like basal or squamous cell carcinoma, which don’t disqualify you).
The test works by detecting fragments of cancer DNA circulating in your bloodstream. It screens for more than 50 cancer types, including several that have no standard screening test today: pancreatic, liver, esophageal, stomach, and kidney cancers among them. It does not detect cancers that don’t shed DNA into the blood, such as brain cancer. A positive result doesn’t confirm cancer on its own. It signals that further diagnostic testing is needed, and it can predict where in the body the cancer is likely located.
What Could Change Coverage
The biggest single factor is FDA approval. Once the Galleri test clears the premarket approval process, CMS would have the regulatory foundation to consider a national coverage determination for traditional Medicare. Legislation has also been introduced in Congress, sometimes called the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, which would create a specific Medicare benefit category for these tests. Neither pathway has a guaranteed timeline, but FDA review of the application is actively underway.
In the meantime, the coverage landscape is likely to shift incrementally as more Medicare Advantage plans add the test to supplemental benefits and as clinical trial enrollment expands. If coverage is important to you, checking with your Medicare Advantage insurer each year during open enrollment is the most practical step you can take.