NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Invitae reported it has entered into a national provider agreement for laboratory services with UnitedHealthcare Insurance, effective Jan. 1, 2017.
According to the SEC filing, Invitae had already announced a provider agreement in September with the California affiliate of another major US payor. Since then, the company has inked agreements with other regional affiliates of the same payor, including in Georgia, part of Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
When they take effect, these provider agreements will cover a total of 150 million lives for Invitae tests, according to the SEC filing.
In a development that will affect revenues for Invitae's tests, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued final pricing determinations earlier this month. CMS raised the price of CPT code 81432, describing next-generation sequencing tests for hereditary breast cancer-related disorders, from its proposed rate of $623 to $925. Invitae, which provides NGS testing for such disorders, had been urging CMS to price that code at $950.
While reporting a threefold increase in Q2 revenues, Invitae said in August that it had established reimbursement with Aetna to be part of its lab network effective Aug. 15, and secured contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates as an in-network lab providing testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and Lynch syndrome. The company began receiving Medicare payments in April for its panel tests for breast cancer related disorders (reimbursed under CPT code 81432 at an interim rate of $622.53), and signed contracts with more institutional customers.
Invitae's shares were up more than 3 percent at $7.55 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.