HELENA — Lawmakers had their first chance Thursday to hear public comment on a bill adding licensing requirements for genetic counselors.
A genetic counselor is a person who conducts genetic testing to find out a patient’s predisposition to inherited diseases or cancers. Montana has 14 genetic counselors in the state, but there are more who practice in Montana via telehealth.
Betsy Smith, a genetic counselor herself, said that she expects more than 100 applicants for licensure in the first year after the bill passes.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, joked about the way licensure works now.
“I would like to disclose something, Mr. Chairman: I am a genetic counselor,” Buttrey said. “I got my certificate from Joel’s garage.”
And while Buttrey said he was joking, he told the committee that without passing his bill, anyone could go to “Joel’s garage” and become a genetic counselor.
The bill’s seven supporters said licensed genetic counselors would help provide more targeted care for Montanans, in turn lowering their healthcare costs.
Two of the bill’s three opponents took umbrage with a section of the bill that appears to allow genetic counselors to conduct “other diagnostic tests,” but does not define those tests.
James Bradley is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.
