How does Genetic Counseling Services work?

We are different from most Genetic Counseling Programs which are hospital or office based and offer in-person, face-to-face appointment from the start.   Geneticcounselingservices.com offers initial telephone consultation with the option of telephone consultation or face-to-face appointment at a hospital, doctor's office or clinic, depending on your location.   If you have been referred by a laboratory with which we may contract,  our Genetic Counselors will provide to you information that is within the scope of practice of a laboratory genetic counselor.  This may  include information about your genetic testing, explanation of the meaning of  genetic test results in general, information about other genetic tests that can answer your questions and information on where to locate management standards that may pertain to your concern.   If you seek a personal Comprehensive Genetic Counseling appointment, you may wish to consider a more comprehensive follow-up appointment, see: Personalized Risk Assessment for a private telephone or web-based consultation (www.geneticcounselingservices.com) or check out the National Society of Genetic Counselors (nsgc.org) for a listing of Genetic Counselors at a center near you.   

Genetic Counseling Services recognizes the growing role which many physicians prefer in managing genetic testing and the healthcare of their patients.  We will work with you and your doctor to obtain the most pertinent family history information, insurance authorization and informed consent, all through private and convenient telephone consultation and correspondence,  so that your physician can order the testing you need, which we will help to coordinate.     

We are in the process of contracting with insurers and hospitals and clinics to bring this service to patients who seek genetic counseling.    We are still working out the details with many insurers, so please  Contact Us to find out the most current information about your insurance eligibility for Genetic Counseling Services. 

What are my payment options?

There are 3 payment options:  Insurance Pay, Hospital/Clinic Pay, and Self-Pay.

For Clients who select Insurance Pay

We are contracted with some insurers for telephone consultation and work to obtain authorization from other insurers.  We continue to contract with new insurers and hospitals so that patients can obtain Genetic Counseling Services without cost (except for co-payment). 

Until those details are in place, clients may contact us with their insurance information so that we may include it in future contracting plans.   If we are contracted with your insurer, similar to an office visit, you will need to pay the amount of your co-payment, if you have one.  For certain insurers, this may not be required at all. 

You may also call the Member Services phone number on your medical insurance card to see where else your insurer is contracted for genetic counseling.   

For Clients who select Hospital/Clinic Pay  

This option is best for clients who are referred by a  hospital or clinic with which we contract or for clients whose insurer is not yet contracted with us.  This option allows you to take advantage of either remote  (phone or web based)  or on-site ( at your hospital or medical clinic) genetic counseling through our service.  Some clinics will contract for telephone consultation for their patients exclusively.  Other clinics who have also contracted for on-site Genetic Counseling, have arranged that Genetic Counseling Services will provide remote consultation for urgent consultations or when upcoming on-site clinics are already fully scheduled.  We heed to the details of contractual arrangements in deciding the scheduling of either remote or on-site appointment for clinics.  Genetic Counseling Services will bill insurance for remote appointments and your hospital will bill insurance for on-site appointments. As with any medical appointment, you will be responsible for your co-payment at the time of your on-site and/or  remote clinic appointment. ( No Co-payments collected for patients referred for breast cancer risk assessment and testing).

Whether your genetic counseling is provided on or off site, clients find the genetic counseling connection to a clinic/hospital service helpful, in allowing them to identify sources for future services and support.  Clients are not obliged however to use the medical services of any clinic with which we contract for genetic counseling, although it is often through this collaboration that medical service needs are best organized.      

For Clients who select Self Pay    

Some patients prefer the convenience of remote or telephone consultation, which their insurers do not cover.  Others report that their insurers are contracted with genetic counseling providers who are located at too great a distance for convenience or with providers who have no specific credentialling in Genetic Counseling.   For these reasons, or because of  unclear insurance eligibility for service, some clients choose to self-pay.    

Patients who choose to make Co-payments pay by check should Contact Us.  

Can I submit my bill from Genetic Counseling Services to my insurer and expect reimbursement?

If we are contracted with your insurer, we will submit your bill for you.  Please Contact Us for the most up-to-date information about those insurers with whom we are directly contracted. 

Insurers sometimes require genetic counseling only through physicians or those providers with whom they are contracted.  Many insurers no longer require a referral for genetic counseling. Please check with us first. You can also verify your coverage for Genetic Counseling Services, by calling your insurer.

Genetic counselors are not licensed in all states and therefore may not be able to bill some insurers.  Also many genetic counselors bill insurers through physicians with whom they collaborate, unless direct insurance contractual arrangements have been made otherwise.  Telephone consultation through Genetic Counseling Services is not contracted with any physician, for billing purposes.  However we contract directly with certain insurers and with hospital clinics for services.