Highmark's genetic product seen as tool in prevention
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If you could spit in a tube and know, with some degree of genetic probability, that you're at risk for cancer, heart disease or Alzheimer's, would you do it?
Highmark Inc. hopes you will -- and it also hopes you will use that knowledge to take preventative steps to avoid those potentially scary outcomes. Starting this week, Pittsburgh's largest health insurer is selling a genetic sampling and counseling package that will allow customers to test their DNA for the probability of suffering from 28 different health conditions.
The product is created by Navigenics, a California company, one of several that makes at-home testing kits. Some such tests are already available at drugstores over the counter.
This testing kit will cost $199, and signing up for the "counseling" package -- in which health counselors will review your results and suggest certain screenings or follow-up steps -- will cost $9.95 a month for a full year of counseling.
The products are being sold at the company's Highmark Direct retail stores and could also be made available through your employer someday.
Results of the genetic tests will not be furnished to Highmark, the company said, and Highmark (or any other insurance company) isn't permitted to use someone's genetic data against them when it comes to setting premiums or making policy underwriting decisions.
Steve Nelson, Highmark's vice president of health services strategy, product and marketing, said the kit and program provided another way for customers and policyholders to take a more active role in their health.
But those who find unappealing the prospect of knowing too much about their disease risks are free to pass.
"Everybody's different. People can make a decision to do this, or not. It's not a required part of our health care," he said.
It works like this: After signing up for the package, you'll receive a saliva collection tube by mail. A lab will inspect your DNA, a process that will take two or three weeks, and then you'll get an email when the test results are ready.
After that, you can chat with Navigenics counselors about what your results mean, and they may also steer you toward other Highmark wellness programs and prevention coaches, or to subsequent screenings by physicians or specialists.
First Published April 15, 2011 12:00 am
