Genetic Discrimination and Health Insurance: An Urgent Need for Reform

The accelerated pace of gene discovery and molecular medicine portend a future in which information about a plethora of disease genes can be readily obtained. As at-risk populations are identified, research can be done to determine effective prevention and treatment strategies that will lower the personal, social and perhaps the financial costs of disease in the future. We all carry genes that predispose to common illnesses. In many circumstances knowing this information can be beneficial, as it allows individualized strategies to be designed to reduce the risk of illness. But, as knowledge about the genetic basis of common disorders grows, so does the potential for discrimination in health insurance coverage for an ever increasing number of Americans.