Illinois to Provide Genetic Testing through Medicaid

Genetic testing and the possibility of genetic profiling in healthcare has been in the spotlight recently, and thanks to Illinois Medicaid, it’s back up there again.

Illinois Medicaid has decided it will begin offering coverage for breast and ovarian cancers – two of the biggest causes of cancer deaths in women.

Which Genes Does Illinois Medicaid Examine?

The tests that Illinois Medicaid plan to cover examine genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Mutations in these genes are known to increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer.

These mutations are inheritable, so for a woman with a family history of either of these cancers, getting the test may be very worthwhile. Somewhere between five and ten percent of the 192,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year in America have an inherited gene mutation – and it has been estimated that women with a mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 are between three and seven times more likely to develop breast cancer.

Getting the Genetic Test

Getting the test is easy – any woman covered by Medicaid can ask her participating Medicaid doctor to order the test. The state will also cover genetic counseling for a woman whose test results indicate a high risk of either breast or ovarian cancer.

Now, there are some issues to be aware of, particularly that genetic testing is still in its infancy. The results of this test are not definitive– it can’t tell you for sure whether or not you will develop breast cancer. The test can only indicate your level of risk.

Another issue is the way the tests are marketed to the public. Some breast cancer test advertising suggests that any woman can reduce her risk by taking the test, and this is definitely not the case.

Contrary to much of the advertising that is around, only women with a family history of breast cancer will actually benefit from these types of tests. So yes, if you have a family history, it’s definitely a good idea to take the test.

But if you don’t have the family history, you have around a 1% chance of getting any beneficial information from taking it. In these cases, your doctor is more likely to recommend other health-monitoring measures that can reduce your risk.