Dr. Chagpar Discusses Patient Perceptions of Genetic Testing's Impact on Health Insurance

Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MSc, MA, MPH, associate professor of surgery (oncology), director, The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, program director, Interdisciplinary Breast Fellowship, assistant director, Diversity and Health Equity at Yale Cancer Center, discusses a study that looked at patient perceptions of the impact of genetic testing for breast cancer risk on health insurance.

Chagpar says the study gathered data from The National Health Interview Survey, a population-based face-to-face survey conducted annually by the CDC. Participants were asked what their perception of genetic testing was and if they felt that genetic testing would impact their health insurance.

Even though legislation was passed that mandated that genetic testing results couldn’t affect a person’s health insurance, the study found that nearly a fifth of women felt that their genetic testing could adversely affect their health insurance.

Chagpar says physicians and nurses need to do a better job of educating patients.