SALT LAKE CITY, July 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) today announced a program to provide financial assistance to underinsured patients. Beginning July 22, Myriad will offer financial assistance to reduce qualified underinsured patients' out-of-pocket cost to no more than $375. To be eligible, patients must have private insurance, meet their insurance's coverage criteria for testing, and meet low income requirements (household incomes up to 200 percent of the Federal poverty level). This expansion of Myriad's financial assistance program to underinsured patients complements the free testing Myriad currently offers for low income uninsured patients.
"We recognize that a large number of Americans are underinsured and have many expenses that raise their healthcare costs," said Peter D. Meldrum, president and CEO of Myriad. "We want to ensure that those with the greatest financial need have access to our diagnostic tests and this new component of our financial assistance program will make that possible. A lack of financial resources should not be an impediment to quality healthcare."
According to the Commonwealth Fund's 2012 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, an estimated 30 million Americans are underinsured. In 2012, 80 million skipped needed health care -- including doctor's visits and prescriptions -- in the past year due to cost.
The expanded financial assistance program covers all of Myriad's diagnostic tests and builds upon the two existing programs that the company already has in place:
- For uninsured patients who meet medical society guidelines and whose household incomes fall below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level, diagnostic testing is available at no charge.
- For all patients, interest-free tailored payment plans are available to accommodate specific financial situations.
Myriad Genetics has helped more than 35,000 patients gain access to molecular diagnostic testing through its patient and financial assistance programs to date. For more information patients may go to www.mysupport360.com/journey/financial-assistance.php.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics is a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to making a difference in patients' lives through the discovery and commercialization of transformative tests to assess a person's risk of developing disease, guide treatment decisions and assess risk of disease progression and recurrence. Myriad's portfolio of molecular diagnostic tests are based on an understanding of the role genes play in human disease and were developed with a commitment to improving an individual's decision making process for monitoring and treating disease. Myriad is focused on strategic directives to introduce new products, including companion diagnostics, as well as expanding internationally. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com.
Myriad, the Myriad logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, MYGN-G
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the expansion of the Company's patient financial assistance program to underinsured patients; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics". These "forward-looking statements" are management's present expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our existing molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; risks related to changes in the governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services tests and any future tests are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities; risks related to public concern over our genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we license or acquire; the development of competing tests and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents; risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.