Cell free DNA test

cbtobon

Hello,
We had our first US today and everything looked great. This is our second pregnancy. During our first we got a false positive for down's during our first trimester screening. We (very stupidly) opted for a very invasive procedure (CVS) to confirm the test and it came back fine. At the time we were living in NYC and also participated in a clinical study for the new 'cell free DNA blood test'. Basically now they can extract fetal DNA from your bloodstream through a regular blood test, which is great bc it's not invasive at all and it's a lot more accurate than the probabilistic tests. So my question is whether anyone has had this offered to them. We are not high risk (31 yo no issues) and no family history of genetic disorders. I have two friends who are at the same gestation and haven't been offered the test. From what I see online it's quite costly and only offered to high risk patients or you have to pay like $1000 out of pocket but our insurance confirmed that our co-pay is only $25. Is this only offered in certain hospitals/regions? Are they offering this to us bc we had a false positive during our first pregnancy? Or are the insurance companies smartening up and realizing that this might actually save them money in the long run bc it prevents unnecessary expensive procedures (like cvs or amnio) due to false positives ? Sorry for the long post.

labgrand2012

Agreed with PP, we had to get preapproval for it the first time we had it due to the NT Scan results. And we will be getting preapproval this time because we are considered higher risk now. It is very expensive and not widely known about. 

Also, I don't think you should say that you stupidly got the CVS test. Yes it is invasive, but it also a choice that some people make. I just feel like you are saying those who get it, and I did get it last time, are stupid for doing such a thing. 

I am glad you are able to go the blood test route with minimal cost! It is way more comfortable than the CVS

Edited because spelling is hard. 

cbtobon

We live in Chicago now and our OB is at a well rated teaching hospital associated with northwestern university.  Not sure if it's standard procedure for them bc of research interest.  

RE CVS - it was stupid for our circumstances.  It's there for other people and necessary for theirs; but in our scenario it was a stupid decision.