Demystifying Insurance to Unlock Genetic Counseling and Genetic Testing Opportunities

Genetic Counselors and You

In honor of Genetic Counselor Awareness Day, we hope this episode helps you learn new ways to access genetic counseling services as we tackle a complex topic with an expert genetic counselor.

Health insurance can be complex. How do you know if something is or isn’t covered in your plan? And what if you don’t have insurance? This can make decisions about your health, which may include genetic testing and genetic counseling, even harder to figure out. It might make some of us avoid genetic testing or genetic counseling altogether, if we have a choice. But is that the right thing to do? In this episode, we speak to Heather L. Shappell, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor with expertise in this area, to help demystify insurance as it pertains to genetic testing and genetic counseling.

For more information on the topics discussed in this episode, visit aboutgeneticcounselors.org and the following webpages:

• Does Insurance Cover Genetic Counseling and Testing?
• Protecting Your Privacy (about genetic discrimination)
• Coverage and Reimbursement of Genetic Tests from National Human Genome Research Institute