Noted Disparities Seen in Genetic Testing
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Kyle Riding
In this program:
Genetic testing access can be an obstacle for some patients. Medical laboratory scientists Dr. Brandy Gunsolus and Dr. Kyle Riding share insight about disparities and advice for ensuring that you receive information about genetic testing costs.
Transcript
Leo Hesse:
Dr. Riding and Dr. Gunsolus, can you speak to some of the noted disparities and genetic testing. Do you want to take this first, Dr. Riding?
Dr. Kyle Riding:
Sure. So one of my big concerns when it comes to genetic testing is access to genetic testing. As we've spoken about during this session today, there are insurers that will cover it when it's medically necessary, there are questions you can ask to assure that the insurance company understands the medical need, and there's research that you can do with your insurance company to be able to investigate what cost may be associated with you having this test done on yourself or a loved one. But one thing that I really would hope that you advocate for is ask your provider, if you do, unfortunately, come into a diagnosis of cancer or have a child, heaven forbid, that has some type of potential congenital illness that needs follow-up testing, make sure you work with that provider to get access to the testing, do not let them assume that that testing is not available to you.
One of the things that I unfortunately...one of the projects I've been a part of recently has been looking at survival from lung cancer amongst urban and rural individuals, or those that live in urban and rural settings, and folks that live in rural settings are far more likely to die within five years of their lung cancer diagnosis. Now, part of that is just general access to healthcare facilities aren't quite as solid in rural areas as they are in urban areas, but that lack of access to healthcare facilities doesn't mean that you, when you do encounter your providers can't advocate and look into every testing mechanism that won't set you back financially, that provides a good diagnostic or prognostic bit of information that benefits you and leads to a better health outcome. Just don't allow them to under-sell that you have a need for this test, if it can truly be used, that they assume you can't afford it or can't have it come your way, so just always make sure you're asking those follow-up questions, is there anything else that can be done? Is there any genetic testing for this cancer or congenital illness for my child that can be detected using a genetic test? Just make sure you ask those questions, because most of the time when there are disparities with genetic tests, it's because of a lack of access to them.
Leo Hesse:
Very good advice. Thank you. Over to you, Dr. Gunsolus.
Dr. Brandy Gunsolus:
So what I would say is completely agree with everything that Kyle said. I also want to mention that when it comes to financial rights, you have the right to know how much that test is going to cost you, you have the right to know after insurance how much it's going to cost you..you have the right to know how much your insurance is going to be billed for a test. I also would like to say that you really need to make sure that you file for financial assistance with every company that is doing your genetic testing, every company has different nuances in their policies, but most of them are quite generous, and even families that are making $100,000 to $150.000 a year can qualify for some amount of financial assistance, but you never know until you file for it, you can offer that before the test is even done. So those are things that you definitely need to know. I definitely need to go ahead and get done prior to getting genetic testing done.
Leo Hesse:
Fantastic, that's really good advice again, thank you. Dr. Gunsolus, you mentioned financial rights a few seconds ago. Is there any more that you can add to financial rights when it comes to patients and advanced lab testing, is there anything else that you'd like to share or..shall we move on?
Dr. Brandy Gunsolus:
Well, what I spoke was mainly pertaining to genetic testing, but this applies really to all testing, you are entitled to know how much that testing is going to cost you, how much it's going to be billed to your insurance, and you're also entitled to know...is your insurance going to cover it, so all of that, you are entitled to know before you even have it done, if you are a Medicare beneficiary, you or whatever. If you are a Medicare beneficiary and they ask you to sign an ABN, make sure you read it, make sure you mark the box on whether or not you agree to be balanced bill for anything that is not covered, or if you do not agree with the test being done, you have the right to refuse to have that, that's done, that is within your right as a patient take control of your healthcare.
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