NYT: Insurance Fears Lead Many to Shun DNA Tests
Article link.By AMY HARMONPublished: February 24, 2008
Victoria Grove wanted to find out if she was destined to develop the form of emphysema that ran in her family, but she did not want to ask her doctor for the DNA test that would tell her.
She worried that she might not be able to get health insurance, or even a job, if a genetic predisposition showed up in her medical records, especially since treatment for the condition, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, could cost over $100,000 a year. Instead, Ms. Grove sought out a service that sent a test kit to her home and returned the results directly to her…
Again, if you cannot access the article, let me know and I will email the full text to you.
Also, a great archive of articles on the same topic. Granted, these are all issues that exist in the US. Still, its a great resource, especially when you extend those same issues to the international arena and apply cultural relativism to the debate.
- Bryan
February 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
As you can see, the USA has already done plenty to combat genetic discrimination based on what diseases of health issues a person may have. As written in the article, our House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and it will be going to the Senate soon. This will make sure the companies aren’t prejudiced against people with health conditions and also ensure that insurers don’t deny benefits or increase premium. Already, we have created a law that makes it illegal for insures to “exclude individuals from a group plan because of their genetic profile.”
All of these laws and other that will be created in the future ensure that people are not discriminated from insurance or work because of the genetic profile and that they get equal opportunity, also decreasing fear in people so they can get the healthcare that they need and live their lives in a healthy manner. We encourage countries who have not taken the steps the USA have to take them so that people can get the help that they need.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Good point by the USA, although the risks in this article are not quite the same as the risks we will tackle in committee. We need to watch out for the exposure or exploitation of genetic data stemming from diversity research. The concept, however, is the same.
USA touches on an improtant point about how to enforce and regulate testing to ensure no discrimination or crimes against humanity occur. You could recommend that nations pass domestic laws to that effect, or you could recommend the UN and the international community attempt to create international law to do the same thing. Read up on my synopsis of international law in the previous post to see what can or cannot be done through the international legal realm.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
The USA definitely agrees with what the chair said. These laws are only the beginning of genetic equality, and other topics surrounding it. These laws are the basis of which other laws can based on, thus providing a successful example. Once you get down these type of laws and have them secure, you can move on to making more, grander laws that will give more protections and security to those in need, like for this committee, indigenous people for example. If we can extend these privileges to indigenous people, in a different way, we can make sure that we can learn the origin of different ethnic groups but also ensure that the indigenous people are safe and sound.
Also, creating national genetic laws then international law could work, or vice-versa. National law would create a foundation for further building and a definite international set of regulations while starting off with an international set of regulations could help 3rd world nations and other nations start off on the right foot, thus also setting these protective measures in place as soon as possible.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:55 am
United Kingdom understands the severity of discrimination from genetic testing. For example, according to a BBC News article on “Genetic Testing for Prostate Cancer”, 35,000 men a year are diagnosed with this disease. The problem is that many people are covered with health insurace and other forms of medical treatment until they take a genetic test and realize that they have a disease in their family’s line. Afterwards, they are deprived of their insurance or are denied.
A way to battle this would be to allow people who already have health insurance, (in whatever form it may be depending on the country), to keep their health care even after genetic testing, therefore people will not be discouraged from participating in genetic testing and knowing if they are at risk for a certain disease.