Current Issue

National Society of Genetic Counselors issues practice guidelines for expanded carrier screening

NSGC recommends expanded carrier screening be available as option for all who are currently pregnant, considering pregnancy, or might biologically contribute to pregnancy


The new, evidence-based Practice Guidelines emphasize how equitable carrier screening (ECS) can be used to eliminate “a single race-based medical practice” and is “recommended to achieve the goal of equitable testing and care.”

“…As such, the provision of equitable risk assessment for inherited disease through genetic carrier screening should not rely on patient-reported race or ethnicity, but instead should be offered through a screening modality that provides thorough and unbiased evaluations for all tested persons…”

The guidelines state to achieve equitable intervention “insurance reimbursement for testing is of critical importance.” It continues “all individuals, including those without personal or family history of genetic disease, stand to benefit from payer coverage of ECS.”

Myriad Genetics Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call