A proposed population screening program for people at high risk of lung cancer may not be sufficiently targeted to provide value for money, according to government advisers.

The Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) has deferred a recommendation to the Federal Government on whether to fund the program.

Under the plan put forward by Cancer Australia, non-Indigenous patients aged 55-75 and Indigenous people aged 50-75 would be referred for two-yearly low-dose CT screening based on a GP’s assessment of their smoking history, family history, ethnicity and other factors.

But in a public summary document on the application published this week, MSAC said it had concerns about the validity of the economic evaluation.