FREE TO READ

Everything here is free to read, and nothing here is a claim about your case. Built from California’s published records and modified by us — not official government data. How these numbers were made.

Condition class · category · California

Genetic disease denials at external review

When a California health plan denied care for genetic disease and the enrollee took it to Independent Medical Review, this is what independent physician reviewers decided.

66.4%

Overturned
89 of 134
Era
2021-2025
Jurisdiction
California DMHC IMR
Published class
Genetic Diseases
Median days to decision
32
All years
61.4% of 352
89 overturned45 upheld

What reviewers relied on

3 validated codes

California requires each published decision to carry “a detailed case summary that includes the specific standards, criteria, and medical and scientific evidence, if any, that led to the case decision” (Health & Safety Code § 1374.33(h)(1)(K)). These are the elements our extraction found in this class, split by how the decision came out.

What the reviewer relied onIn overturnsIn upholds
the FDA label or approval status24%n=8913%n=45
a standardised level-of-care instrument0%n=890%n=45
a California statutory definition1%n=892%n=45

Read as description, not instruction. These are patterns in what reviewers wrote, not steps to follow, and no combination of them predicts an outcome. Only codes that cleared the validation gate appear — thirteen did not.

Authorities named in this class

computed
  • FDA27
  • American College of Cardiology2
  • American Heart Association2
  • NCCN2
  • American Academy of Neurology1
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology1
  • American College of Physicians1
  • Cochrane1

A rate here is the outcome of decisions that named the authority, not the effect of naming it. Reviewers cite the standard they applied; the citation and the outcome share a cause.

By treatment

computed
  • Overturned — the reviewer did not sustain the denial
  • Upheld — the reviewer sustained the denial
  • Pharmacy68.6%51
  • Durable medical equipment27
  • Diagnostic imaging & screening19
  • Outpatient rehabilitation13
  • Home Health Care6
  • Autism-related treatment3
  • Acute inpatient medical2
  • Diagnostic & physician evaluation2

Browse all treatment classes · Pick your own pair

The specific treatments inside this class

below n=30, no rate is claimed
  • Other24
  • Genetic/Genomic Test15
  • Biologics10
  • Neuromuscular RX8
  • Hormones6
  • Physical Therapy6
  • Skill Nsg Vsts6
  • Speech Therapy6

By review type

computed
  • Medical Necessity64.3%115
  • Experimental/Investigational19

Medical-necessity review asks whether the care is needed. Experimental/investigational review asks whether it is likely to be more beneficial than standard therapy — a harder statutory test, and the rates show it.

Every figure on this page is conditional on a denial having reached external review. Fewer than 1% of denials are appealed internally at all, so this describes denials that were fought to the end — not denials in general — and it describes California only. Who this does not cover.

Free help, first: the California DMHC Help Center files your Independent Medical Review at no cost — 1-888-466-2219, dmhc.ca.gov.