Trending News Today: Multi-Gene Test Could Identify Heart Disease Risk

A new way of analyzing genetic test data may help identify the inherited risk for heart disease and other conditions, the Associated Press reported. According to the article, the researchers examined previous studies that mapped the DNA of large numbers of people, looking for minor misspellings in the genetic code. Afterwards, they developed a computerized system that analyzed how those effects add up and tested it using DNA and medical records from 40,000 individuals. The researchers said that risk scores can be calculated for diseases such as atrial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and breast cancer, the article reported.

On Monday, Amicus Therapeutics set an average price of $315,000 per year for Galafold, its newly approved Fabry disease treatment, Reuters reported. According to the article, Galafold is the first new Fabry disease treatment in the United States in more than 15 years and will compete with Sanofi SA’s infused Fabrazyme, which has an average US list price of $340,000 for adults. Amicus said that Galafold will not have the additional costs associated with administering an infused drug like Fabrazyme does, the article reported.

A recently analysis has found that approximately 1 in 6 hospital stays for patients enrolled in large employer health plans results in out-of-network bills, The Hill reported. According to the article, the Kaiser Family Foundation study of medical bills from large employer plans found that both inpatient and outpatient services that include an emergency room claim have a higher chance of receiving an out-of-network bill, even when they use in-network facilities, and that the problem is more common with anesthesia or pathology claims. Even when enrollees choose in-network facilities, the study found that 15% of admissions include a bill from an out-of-network provider, the article reported.