Genetic testing for breast cancer is to be covered as a preventive service under the US Affordable Care Act, reports MyHealthNewsDaily. A clarification from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Treasury says that asymptomatic, high-risk women — typically with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer — will be able to get tested for the breast cancer risk genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 with no co-pay. This rule applies to non-grandfathered insurance plans.
"We view this clarification as a recognition of the critical value of BRACAnalysis as a preventive service in women's health," Pete Meldrum, the president and CEO of Myriad, says in a statement. "This designation goes a long way in ensuring that high-risk women can now have access to the life-saving preventive information provided by BRACAnalysis without the financial burden of out-of-pocket expenses."
As our sister publication Pharmacogenomics Reporter notes, Myriad is the only commercial US provider of BRCA testing and "this classification will likely broaden access to Myriad's BRCA tests."