Aetna has announced that members of health benefit plans will be provided with Aetna access to confidential telephone and web-based cancer genetic counseling services. These services will be provided as part of members’ coverage for genetic testing. The provision of Aetna access to genetic counseling, specifically for cancer patients is epected to facilitate informed decision-making among members and patients. Aetna believes that consulting with a genetic counselor is one of the first steps towards understanding and dealing with cancer and other-related medical condition. The board-certified genetic counselors from Informed Medical Decisions, a national genetic counseling company, will be providing cancer genetic counseling services. These genetic counselors are well-informed about prevention strategies and risk reduction for breast, colorectal, and ovarian cancers. A pilot implementation of the telephonic cancer genetic counseling service to the employees of Aetna has revealed key benefits. There has been significant improvement in the participants' understanding of cancer risks and risk reduction strategies. The results also indicate that participants who have Aetna access to such counseling services are more likely to use these services. -- June 26, 2009 @ 1:57 pm