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Can a healthcare company make enough people angry about its billing practices that its business is hurting? For a genetic testing company, maybe.

An “arms and legs” listener was given a test that has become routine in early pregnancy: a non-invasive prenatal test. It should be $99. But then – after she took the test – it became $250. When she asked questions, she was told it could go up to $800 if she didn’t pay sooner. Patients inquired about testing companies and found that many had experienced what she called “genetic testing bait and switch.”

And importantly – she wasn’t the only one who noticed. When some on Wall Street and a reporter for the New York Times started hearing about the bills, the company found itself in a bind.


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