Genetic Tests and Precision Medicine Start to Win Acceptance by Some Payers; Pathologists and Clinical Laboratories Have Opportunity as Advisors
UnitedHealthcare to cover Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive genomic profiling assay for solid tumors, but Medicare still reluctant to reimburse for genetic tests
Studies showing success of targeted therapies in cancer care may be having an influence on the decisions by certain health insurers to reimburse clinical laboratories to reimburse for certain genetic tests.
One example that press reports cite is how last December UnitedHealthcare began reimbursing for a certain genetic test for patients with a particular lung cancer, according to a statement from Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ:FMI). Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Foundation Medicine describes itself as “a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient’s unique cancer.” (more…)
