Denied: What do Breast Cancer Patients do When Health Insurance Refuses Coverage for Genetic Tests?

• In Event: 2184 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 13. The Illness Experience

Abstract

Abstract
U.S. health policies designed to address socioeconomic health disparities often focus on expanding health insurance coverage; however, health insurance coverage does not mean better health care and new forms of health disparities could be introduced. As new medical technologies are rapidly being introduced into clinical practice, these diagnostic tools are particularly vulnerable to inequities in access. This paper examines the mismatch between health insurance coverage policies and clinical use of new medical technology. We draw on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with breast cancer patients; through our analysis we use the subjective experience of breast cancer patients to illustrate how cultural health capital is employed with the objective of receiving coverage for BRCA testing. Through this analysis we reveal how breast cancer patients’ perception that the health benefits gained by BRCA testing will be valuable in their breast cancer experience. As a result, this work offers a new perspective on how U.S. health policies may be redeveloped to consider the health benefits from newer technologies that may not be recognized in the current structure of health insurance policies.

Author

• Emily Allia Hammad Mrig, University of Colorado-Denver