Is Baby DNA Testing Expensive? Putting Fore Genomics Value in Perspective

These days, healthcare feels like the Wild West. From care facilities to care strategies and various health plans, navigating what's best for our families is impossible.

Now more than ever, with so many decisions, parents must take the lead and choose the best path for their family's healthcare. This can be overwhelming and ultimately lead to more questions than answers.

The answer remains the same. Families want a solution that works uniquely for them, with no hidden costs, that is affordable.

How do families find comprehensive healthcare?

Families can find comprehensive healthcare through precision medicine. Precision medicine is targeted and personalized and takes into account the individual and their unique health signature through understanding the role their genes play in health.

Gone are the days when parents could only choose their child's physician. Gone are the days when parents could wait for the best solution for their child through our healthcare system.

Innovative solutions are out there for parents. A small amount of proactive parental research can lead to a powerful proactive solution for a child.

DNA testing is one of the most powerful precision medicine solutions. The opportunity for families to understand the unique genetic health of their child is the most individualized solution to fully understand genetic predisposition to disease and medication allergy.

Proactive health starts with knowing everything you can and knowing early enough to take action. Great children’s precision medicine solutions like Fore Genomics offer proactive and unique solutions to parents in one all-encompassing service.

Leaders in health research and regulation point to the precise nature of precision medicine. Its power is limitless in that we’re still discovering its full potential.

Sources: U.S. Food & Drug Administration, UC Davis Center

How do families afford unique healthcare?

Families must research children's DNA and genetic precision medicine solutions offering financing and flexible payment options. Innovative healthcare solutions that don't focus on accessibility for every family don't solve problems; they limit family health. Parents shouldn't have to choose whether or not to take proactive steps for their children. Parents need a precision medicine solution on a mission to be unique, affordable, and accessible.

Fore Genomics' mission is to make clinically actionable DNA and genetics solutions available and accessible to all families, enabling early diagnosis and immediate proactive steps toward clinical care for children.

Fore Genomics has mitigated a financial burden by offering financing options as low as $90 per month. We also partner with innovative firms like Flex payment solutions to help families use Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).

Through payments and financing options, we're determined to make a unique and powerful solution a choice for every family.

What are the ethical implications of genetic testing in babies & children?

Parental consent and children's assent are key in healthcare decisions involving minors, yet they don't always address all ethical questions. Ethical challenges often emerge because children lack full autonomy, making their decision-making distinct from adults. Above all, a child's best interests should guide these decisions.

While a child's consent in genetic testing may not carry the same weight as an adult's due to evolving maturity, parents or guardians must represent their best interests. As children mature, they should gradually take on more significant roles in healthcare discussions, respecting their progression towards full autonomy.

Source: National Library of Medicine

What happens if families wait for universal DNA testing for children? Is the healthcare system going to give families a solution?

Today's healthcare system is not bringing precision medicine to every family any time soon. Our healthcare system needs help on many fronts. It's getting harder and harder to seek care, share data, and make appropriate coverage decisions. With seemingly no cooperation across offices and insurers, what is happening?

Let's dive into the healthcare jargon around our current system.

Our healthcare model follows what's known as "The Sick Model." We treat symptoms and not causes of health problems. We are a reactive system, not using the science, innovation, and advancements at our disposal. We are increasingly seeing health insurers hide behind doctor networks and diagnosis codes to limit physicians' ability to act.

Physicians are pushed through protocols to help their patients get paid for care. However, many of these protocols then limit physicians from seeking more answers.

Population Health

So, what’s the answer to our reactive healthcare issue? Supposedly, the answer is "Population health."

Health payer professionals have been speaking about population health for years. In this system, insurers would get paid based on how well they care for their entire population, not just on addressing the symptoms of the sickest patients. This has been in talks for almost ten years.

So, what’s the hold-up? Unfortunately, and very predictably, it’s money!

Suppose health payer companies switch over to the burden of proactive care. In that case, they immediately face hundreds of millions of open care gaps to give people the precision medicine to address their unique health.

This would predictably decimate profit and C-suite bonuses resulting from health plan quality ratings and other objective measures of care coverage.

Families need a solution now! We can’t wait for our healthcare system.

How did our healthcare system get into this mess in the first place?

We started treating everyone the same. We don’t treat people like individuals.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is that today's healthcare treats us all the same, lumping us into groups. Individuals are not just members of a group; they're unique and need a unique health solution.

Drugs are developed for all. During drug trials, solutions that address entirely a portion of the population are thrown out. Solutions that somewhat address the whole population are moved forward. Individuals suffer with a group solution that doesn't meet their needs.

Payer solutions are built for all. Many families have choices between too much coverage versus not enough. Payers constrain plans so much that parents have to opt out of care needed for their family due to financial considerations. Families often have a child with an area of special need, but they can't address that unique need.

Physician protocols are built for all. Physicians are forced to follow insurance protocols in diagnosing, referring, and treating their patients. Our system limits some of our smartest and most capable healthcare workers from being proactive and embracing precision medicine. Today's best precision medicine solutions are approved for use by physicians, allowing a high-fidelity and complete solution for care planning.

Precision Medicine

Precision medicine embraces the pursuit of an unbiased understanding of human health and the commitment to furthering that understanding.

Precision medicine uses molecular and genetic information in our DNA (our genome) to diagnose and treat our unique health conditions. Our DNA is the unique blueprint our body uses to develop. DNA is the most accurate and comprehensive method available to explain our genes, which indicate a predisposition to disease. New discoveries are made every day in the field of genetics that unlock learnings that can treat and cure disease. Human health needs to be connected to the advancement of precision medicine.

We can all be treated as individuals. Personalized care is a reality for families starting their children with 100% DNA testing. Fore Genomics can read 100% of a child's DNA and create a solution for life. Some conditions have genetic treatments that are already developed. Some conditions have treatment groups and information portals to mitigate and delay the onset of symptoms. Our system has no benefits for families waiting for slow approval processes and outdated care plans.

We can avoid painful and emotional journeys for a diagnosis. Many families wait years, and some are still waiting for a diagnosis that can help them move forward. Families suffer as much as $30k, often even more, in unplanned medical expenses, with the healthcare system working against their progress and needing to be treated uniquely. A test like Fore Genomics is less than families spend on a stroller. Still, it offers 18 years of annual analysis against discoveries in genetic science that explain children's health conditions. It's a lifetime of knowledge.

Treatment is limitless and still under development. Diagnosis solutions are here now, accessible and completely comprehensive. Your child can have the coverage they need for individual care.

One simple test, a lifetime of knowledge.

What makes a DNA solution accessible for every family? The right solution for every family?

DNA and genetics solutions require some education. The right family solution can bridge the information gap, provide the best solution possible, and make things convenient and easy for parents.

Let’s describe the right solution for parents.

The best solution would…

1. Involve continuous learning. Create and maintain a learning experience. Keep families up to date on the latest information in genetics research. Provide articles and videos locally on a website, through social media forums, and industry speaking events. Keep proactive annual communication on gene-variant discoveries open and create value with counseling services.
2. Be confidential and convenient. Build a family solution that is easy to sign up for and go through the process – no need to visit your physician. Fore Genomics is an all-inclusive service offering virtual counseling for pre-purchase questions. Simple online signup and form submission. Telemedicine physician and genetic counselor networks for referral and results delivery. A simple at-home cheek swab test. All from the comfort and privacy of your home.
3. Be accessible to every family. Provide families with lots of payment options to consider. Pay in full with a credit card or use your HSA or FSA account. If paying in full isn’t an option, use flexible payment plans starting as low as $90 per month with qualifying credit. Families aren’t disqualified from the solution right out of the gate. It’s less than $100 monthly. A simple cell phone bill investment, but instead of distracting your child, it protects them and provides a lifetime of knowledge and security.
4. Be approved for clinical care. Focus on providing the best of every aspect of the solution. Follow all protocols and laboratory accreditations (CLIA and CAP) meeting requirements to be approved for clinical use. Provide expert genetic counseling. Provide family physicians with educational material and provide health condition information for child diagnosis.
5. Work with the best partners. Perhaps most importantly, surround ourselves with great partners who push to be the best. The best labs, analytics and bioinformatics, counselors, and e-commerce providers help bring excellent solutions to families who need a new opportunity to provide their families with the best care possible.

So, is DNA testing for children expensive?

Parents have to do the research to understand that 100% sequencing is the only baseline of a solution that can offer their child the most comprehensive protection. Parents need to do their research, and understand the solution they are considering and what its claims are. This isn’t an easy task.

If you’re considering Fore Genomics, here’s a straightforward summary.

Fore Genomics is:

• The only test in the market designed specifically for children’s health conditions.
• Sequencing 100% of your child’s DNA. Everything in their DNA is covered.
• Looking at 300+ gene-conditions indicators of disease predisposition.
• Looking at 40+ medications for allergic reactions and dosage control.
• Approved for clinical use, following all lab and process requirements.
• Storing your child’s data securely, no data sharing.
• An at-home test. No office visits. All services are provided virtually.
• Flexible with financing options. Payment plans start as low as $90 monthly.
• Annually expanding. We annually add all gene-condition research discoveries to our existing tests. Every year, through age 18, parents receive an updated genetic report on their child, notifying them if any new genetic discoveries are essential to their child's health.

Parents have all of the information they need. The most comprehensive DNA test for children covers them through age 18 and costs as low as a cell phone bill monthly. Is DNA testing for children expensive?

FAQs

Why is proactive genetic testing important for children?

It allows parents to understand their child's genetic health risks early enough to take preventative actions or prepare for future medical needs.

What unique benefits does Fore Genomics offer for baby DNA testing?

We offer DNA testing that sequences 100% of a child’s DNA, covers over 300 genetic conditions, and assesses responses to more than 40 medications. Our tests are approved for clinical use and provide annual updates on new genetic discoveries relevant to the child's health.

How does Fore Genomics make baby DNA testing accessible to all families?

We offer flexible payment options, including financing plans starting as low as $90 per month and payment acceptance through HSA and FSA accounts. Families should have access to the testing regardless of their immediate financial situation.