Could the AHCA Slow Interest in Genetic Testing?

While it remains uncertain what the Senate will do with the American Health Care Act (AHCA), alarm is spreading about the legislation’s implications for the estimated quarter of Americans under the age of 65 years (more than 50 million people) who have a preexisting condition. One of the more popular features of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was its guarantee that insurance companies could not deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions. Prior to 2014, when the ACA took effect, private insurers evaluated the health status, health history, and risk factors of applicants for coverage and premium decisions. Concern is mounting over the AHCA’s provision that allows states to apply for waivers that could allow insurers to charge those with preexisting substantially more, possibly pricing them out of the market to buy individual health insurance. In just the last few years, genetic testing, including tests that assess hereditary cancer risk, has expanded dramatically. While this has been viewed as a positive development, empowering patients to proactively manage potential health conditions by personalizing screening strategies, the information now may be perceived as liability if the AHCA reverses the ban on preexisting conditions. According to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the […]