In August, 2015 the Canadian Medical Association passed the following motion: "The Canadian Medical Association urges the federal government to enact legislation prohibiting all forms of discrimination based on genetic testing. However, hand in hand with this promise is the potential to use genetic information to discriminate against someone. However, the insurance industry has exercised a voluntary ban on asking existing policyholders or new applicants to undergo genetic testing. URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/dtcgenetictesting/dtcinsurancerisk/. The OPC advocates that genetic information (even known test results) should not be used by the insurance industry. National Human Genome Research Institute: Genetic Discrimination, Wharton Public Policy Podcast: Why Genetic Testing Is a âPerfect Stormâ for Insurers, Other chapters in Help Me Understand Genetics, Genetics Home Reference has merged with MedlinePlus. At present, in Canada, there is no law that prohibits the use of genetic information by insurance companies. Once the insurance contract is signed, you will be covered even if subsequent test results turn out to show disorders. How do direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies protect their customersâ privacy? Some companies have used genetic screening and/or genetic monitoring of employees and job applicants for research and other undisclosed purposes. Though it remains to be seen to what extent this assumption is true, there has been at least one attempt to quantify the cost of banning insurers access to the known results of genetic tests. What are secondary findings from genetic testing? A person interested in submitting the costs of testing may wish to contact his or her insurance company beforehand to ask about coverage. Get insurance before getting tested. What do the results of genetic tests mean? GINA keeps health insurance companies and employers from discriminating on the basis of information that might be found in a genetic screening. Therefore, while discussing the possibility of genetic tests with patients, physicians may want to consider the effects that the test results may have on their eligibility for insurance or insurance premiums, among other things. That’s right — home DNA tests reveal more than just your ethnicity. Genetics Home Reference content now can be found in the "Genetics" section of MedlinePlus. We’ve all seen the commercials for genetic testing kits on TV from companies like Ancestry and 23&Me. The vast majority of diseases are multifactorial, i.e. Passed in 2008, a federal law called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) made it illegal for health insurance providers in the United States to use genetic information in decisions about a person's health insurance eligibility or coverage. People considering genetic testing may want to find out more about their state's privacy protection laws before they ask their insurance company to cover the costs. What is direct-to-consumer genetic testing? How much does direct-to-consumer genetic testing cost, and is it covered by health insurance? At present, insurers are only allowed to use test results for Huntington's disease when selling life insurance. GINA does not apply to other forms of insurance, such as disability insurance, long-term care insurance, or life insurance. Genetic Testing Information for Insurance Underwriting, CLHIA , 2015, available online at in As genetic testing is becoming more affordable and accessible, it will become a common tool for physicians in determining a patient's existing genetic conditions, in tailoring a treatment regime to their genetic profile, in assessing their chances of developing a particular genetic condition in the future, and in determining the chances of them passing a certain genetic condition to their children. What are whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing? How can consumers be sure a genetic test is valid and useful? This will result in cross-subsidization of the high-risk policyholder by other low-risk policyholders. In the United Kingdom, the Association of British Insurers and the Government have agreed on a voluntary moratorium, recently extended to 2017, on the use of predictive genetic test results for life insurance policies under £500,000 or critical illness policies under £300,000. We will always advise you if we are recommending insurance that will require any type of genetic testing.