The Connecticut House has approved requiring health insurance providers to cover biomarker testing, a process that involves using genome sequencing to diagnose disease more accurately.
It's been effective in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's, said Rep. Jane Garibay (D-Windsor), the chair of the Aging Committee.
“So if you know you have the Alzheimer gene, there are two medicines out there now that you can be prescribed, that would make your days healthier, longer,” she said.
The testing helped his relative, who was diagnosed with cancer, said Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford), the House Republican Minority leader.
“With biomarker testing, they discovered that chemotherapy doesn’t work, and they had to use a different type of treatment,” he said. “So I think in the long run it would save companies money if they knew how to attack some of these cancers.”
The bill passed unanimously in the House on Thursday. It now goes to the Senate for action.
If it passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, the law would take effect in January.
