Guardant Health (NASDAQ: GH) announced that EviCore by Evernorth, a Cigna-owned specialty benefits manager, will cover its Shield blood test for colorectal cancer screening effective January 1, 2027, following American Cancer Society guidelines.

EviCore operates across more than 23 states and provides medical benefit management to Blue Cross Blue Shield and other commercial payers. The coverage applies to average-risk adults age 45 and older in states including New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina, among others.

According to the company's press release, the addition of EviCore brings the total number of covered lives for Shield to approximately 94 million. Previous coverage expansions came from Carelon, described as the largest specialty benefits manager in the U.S., and UnitedHealth Group.

Shield is the first FDA-approved blood-based test for primary colorectal cancer screening in average-risk adults and is included in both American Cancer Society and National Comprehensive Cancer Network screening guidelines. The company reports more than 200,000 tests have been performed in real-world settings.

"With the latest coverage from EviCore, an overwhelming majority of eligible Americans now have access to the most clinically-validated blood-based colorectal cancer screening option," said AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO.

Shield is a methylation partitioning cell-free DNA blood test intended for individuals at average risk for colorectal cancer. A positive result requires follow-up colonoscopy evaluation.