- Cigna (NYSE:CI) will require that patients receive counseling before it will pay for genetic tests for certain cancers and other diseases.
- The decision affects checks for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, a leading cause of hereditary breast cancer, and genes for colon cancer and a heart abnormality called long QT syndrome
- The requirement could particularly affect Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN) - 85% of its $613.2M revenue in the last fiscal year came from BRCA tests. Counselors may decide that women need alternative tests not provided by Myriad, or that they don't need to be checked at all.