Insurance and Genetics
Do you have health insurance? When you go to the doctor do you think about how your insurance gives you coverage? When your pay check is a little short because of your premium are you angry? I would like to discuss with you what is going to happen when genetic testing becomes more widely used. In order to discuss how genetic testing is going to affect the insurance industry we must first discuss how insurance works. I know that there are two sides to every story, so I would also like to discuss the pro's and con's of genetic testing. Hopefully, by the end of this presentation you will better understand why this is such an important topic. First, I would like to talk about how insurance works. According to Risk Management and Insurance, insurance is defined as "a social device in which a group of individuals who transfer risk in order to combine experience, which permits mathematical prediction of losses, and provides for payment of losses from funds contributed by all members who transferred risk." Insurance is based on the uncertainty of life. If you have a risk, then most people tend to want to get rid of the risk, or transfer it. The person who transfers risk is the insured and th
On the other hand, if they had access to the results of genetic testing, there could be a lot of problems also. They have so far been unable to pass such a bill. Most Americans want privacy, and of course do not want to be discriminated against. If everyone with insurance is certain to have a genetic disease there is no uncertainty, therefor no insurance. Republicans have supported more narrow legislation, focusing on discrimination by insurers only. I am not usually one who is thrilled about government intervention. " If insurance companies do not have access to these tests, it is my opinion the insurance industry will go bankrupt. There would not be enough money to pay for all of the care of the insured. Since insurance is based on uncertainty that is where the problem comes in. The premium is based on the amount of risk you have. That is where the effect on insurance comes in. Since, insurance uses the premium from the ones who do not develop the disease to pay for the ones who do have the disease, this creates a problem. This is based entirely on history and statistics. Without laws to regulate the industry it will be impossible for us to continue in the same fashion as today. Once you decide to transfer risk you are put into a pool, or a group in which everyone has the same risk as you.
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