Call to legislate genetic discrimination ban
In September last year, the Australian Government announced it would introduce legislation to ban the use of adverse genetic test results in life insurance underwriting — an announcement that would effectively end the industry’s ability to discriminate against consumers based on genetic testing. However, as the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has said in a recent statement, this has still not occurred.
The AMA statement follows a joint submission developed by the public health genomics team, led by Dr Jane Tiller from Monash University, that was submitted to the Treasury consultation into the design of the ban on the use of adverse genetic testing results in life insurance. The joint submission provides recommendations on how the legislation should be designed to support and protect people from genetic discrimination in life insurance.
“We need a ban to give consumers absolute certainty that their genetic status won’t be used by insurers to freeze them out of certain levels of cover,” AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said. “It is the only way to ensure Australians feel safe and confident their genetic results won’t result in discrimination.”
The AMA said the joint submission is in line with its position statement on genetic testing and genomics in medicine, which outlines a range of policy positions to reduce and eliminate genetic discrimination. “A partial ban or a vague moratorium only leads to more uncertainty and deters patients from having life-saving genetic testing and participating in genomic research,” McMullen said. “We need a national approach to the provision and regulation of genetic testing to ensure equitable access to testing in Australia.”
On the importance of this issue to the healthcare sector, McMullen said, “Genetic testing and genomic research have the capacity to rapidly transform health care in Australia by identifying the need for potentially life-saving treatment before an issue arises.”
She added, “It is hard to believe we are in a situation where people, acting through fear of financial penalty, might forsake genetic testing that could save their life or the lives of their children or other relatives.
“This must change. No one should have to fear undertaking genetic testing due to concerns over life insurance discrimination.”
The AMA said it will continue its advocacy efforts, to ensure that legislation banning the use of adverse genetic test results in life insurance underwriting is introduced and implemented.
You can read the joint statement referred to above here, via the Monash University website.
The position statement referred to above is available here, via the AMA website.
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