Aetna Sees Promise in New Heart Disease Diagnostic

With spending on diagnostics alone for cardiovascular disease likely to be a major challenge for insurers amid the baby boom wave, Aetna is turning to an emerging option as part of a strategy to avoid invasive tests and treatments.

Members of Aetna and its Coventry subsidiary now have access to a gene expression blood test that helps diagnose obstructive coronary artery disease, a condition often investigated with stress testing, electrocardiograms, CT scans, dye-based angiography or catheterizations.

Under Aetna’s new clinical policy, a coronary artery disease (CAD) gene expression test sold by the company CardioDX will be covered as medically necessary for non-diabetic adult members experiencing chest pain or similar symptoms without a history of CAD.

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Source: Healthcare Payer News