@Eric, Given the relatively low cost of sequencing, are there potential concerns for use of this information by health insurers to decline or alter coverage based on either running the the assay or discovering the information in the patient’s medical record? If so, are there any protective steps for the public to take?
Thanks. Important question. There is legal protection that your genomic data cannot be used to discriminate or affect health insurance (GINA bill) but that doesn’t extend to life or disability insurance. That has to get fixed. In the meantime your genomic results should not be incorporated in your medical record unless a specific variant is tied to a treatment, or justification for aggressive screening.
An MD I visited not long ago proposed I get genetic testing. I had the sense that she was proposing this to all her patients, no matter their demographic (she had a flyer she was giving out to her patients). I am well into my golden years, with no offspring, so it didn’t make sense to me why she would propose it. For younger people, though, it definitely does seem worth considering. But this is all layperson conjecture, and it would be interesting to hear what you think about when it is most indicated to get this sort of testing.
@Eric, Given the relatively low cost of sequencing, are there potential concerns for use of this information by health insurers to decline or alter coverage based on either running the the assay or discovering the information in the patient’s medical record? If so, are there any protective steps for the public to take?
Thanks. Important question. There is legal protection that your genomic data cannot be used to discriminate or affect health insurance (GINA bill) but that doesn’t extend to life or disability insurance. That has to get fixed. In the meantime your genomic results should not be incorporated in your medical record unless a specific variant is tied to a treatment, or justification for aggressive screening.
An MD I visited not long ago proposed I get genetic testing. I had the sense that she was proposing this to all her patients, no matter their demographic (she had a flyer she was giving out to her patients). I am well into my golden years, with no offspring, so it didn’t make sense to me why she would propose it. For younger people, though, it definitely does seem worth considering. But this is all layperson conjecture, and it would be interesting to hear what you think about when it is most indicated to get this sort of testing.
Agree. Without offspring and at your age I cannot understand the rationale for her recommendation to get your genome sequenced
@Eric Which commercial sequencing companies reliably identify P/LP variants of the ACMG listed genes?