Genetic Testing

[hellojello25]

Hi ladies! I just wanted to let you know about this company my doctor told me about. It's called Progenity and basically its genetic testing for free. I don't have anything that runs in my family, however they will still check for a bunch of markers like Downs, Trisomy 18 and 13, as well as a bunch of other syndromes. I live in the US, so I'm not sure about other countries, or even other states, but basically it's $5000 worth of testing for free. The company bills the insurance and only charges what the insurance will cover. The rest gets written off. So I guess not technically free, but free for us

Anyways, I just went to get my blood drawn this morning and they take a lot, but it doesn't harm the baby and its completely non-invasive (which was key for me), just a tiny prick on the arm. It also will tell you the gender of the baby, if you want to know. The link is below if you want to check it out, I just figured it was handy knowledge to pass along.

https://progenity.com/

 

[laila 44]

Is it the panorama? I'm doing that at 9weeks xx

 

[hellojello25]

Is it the panorama? I'm doing that at 9weeks xx

I'm not too sure lol. This is my first pregnancy, so I'm not sure of all the terms and whatnot. It does test for a lot of different things, so maybe?

 

[Scout]

I had that done back in 2012 with daughter. It was called the MaterniT21, and now there are several out. The Panorama is similar, but I think the results come back with a ratio still and not a positive or negative like the MaterniT21. (I could be wrong though, but I think that's what I've read other women say) The lab that does the Materni is Sequenom out in California. They did the same thing and only charged insurance. And if you didn't have insurance they'd charge you no more than $250. It was great to have a test that wasn't invasive. I went in to the test with a 1:11 risk for both trisomy 13 and 18 and a 1:17 for trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) It took 8 weekdays to get the results back, and I did find the gender at the same time. Although when she told me the results showed baby was healthy I broke down crying with relief and almost forgot to even ask! Hope it's okay to add this info to your post. Always good to give women options to have testing that's non invasive. Glad another company is doing this as well. Good luck and congrats on our little one!

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

Just reading through their website, it doesn't look like it's completely free just as a head's up:

"I have questions about a bill I received from Progenity.

If you should receive a bill directly from Progenity showing that you have a balance due, please contact us to verify the amount due and to discuss your payment options. Flexible payment options are available, and you may be eligible for our Peace of Mind program, which limits out-of-pocket expenses for qualified patients."

 

[DobbyForever]

Very cool. I'm getting a panorama done outside of my insurance (Kaiser) so I am paying totally out of pocket. It's running me about $750 if I charge it, or $380 if I pay cash. I'm fine with that. I want to know the sex more than anything hehe

Also, laila. Just a heads up I know the Panorama people say it can be done as early as 9 weeks but I booked my week 10. The gyn I am using said he prefers to see patients in weeks 10-12, but the bulk of ones he has done in week 9 come back inconclusive and then they have to come back a week later (and get charged again). So he strongly suggested waiting until week 10.

 

[purelygemini]

I just did this test at 10 weeks, it's called verify by progenity. My doctor told me about it and said it only costs $99 however I still have not been charged for it but either way that's not much at all. From what I hear in my April group, a lot of women are going to do the panorama which is much more expensive, about $700.

As far as my experience with progenity went, it was great. They told me my baby came up negative for all of the trisomys and other things they tested for, and they told me I'm having a baby girl!! The results took exactly one week to come back, and doing that test was the best decision I made.

Also, on the back of the pamphlet they gave me, it said something about helping you with the cost if your funds are limited.

 

[jtink28]

I just did the MaterniT21, and it was free since my insurance covered it all (I'm 35). Baby is a healthy boy!

 

[hellojello25]

Just reading through their website, it doesn't look like it's completely free just as a head's up:

"I have questions about a bill I received from Progenity.

If you should receive a bill directly from Progenity showing that you have a balance due, please contact us to verify the amount due and to discuss your payment options. Flexible payment options are available, and you may be eligible for our Peace of Mind program, which limits out-of-pocket expenses for qualified patients."

My apologies if my info was wrong. My doctor told me that the company only bills the insurance company for what they will pay and that it would be free for me. Still, it's a great option if its only $99 like purelygemini stated instead of $700. I guess if it's not free it's still worth looking into.

 

[PurpleIvy44]

They are offering this more and more to women 35+ to check for abnormalities and finding out the sex of the baby in lieu of an amnio. If it was to come back positive then you can have an amnio too. I had the Harmony blood test done by Ariosa and I wasn't able to get it before 10 weeks. It's a $2,500 blood test but most insurances are covering the cost (US) so they agree on an amt and write off the rest. All I had to pay was a co-pay of $25, which is so worth it.

 

[HopefulEm]

Looks like here in the UK you can get a blood gender test done for about £170. That particular site is claiming 95% accurate at 9 weeks, though I've read at 8 weeks it's quite accurate as well. Hadn't heard of this before; quite interesting!