-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Dave Hartley http://www.asheville-computer.com/dave Activist Mailing List - http://get.to/activist [You fail, you die] The Telegraph (UK) ISSUE 1760Monday 20 March 2000 Insurers to DNA test for genetic illnesses By Marie Woolf, Political Correspondent MINISTERS are to allow insurance companies to use genetic testing to assess a person's risk of inheriting serious illness. People with a genetic tendency to chronic conditions will face significantly higher premiums for medical, life and travel insurance. In the past, ministers have considered banning genetic testing because of fears that it would create an under-class unable to obtain insurance cover. But after a consultation completed last week, the Government is to sanction a series of reliable genetic tests that insurance firms can use. It plans to allow the companies to use single gene tests, which show whether a person with a family history of an illness such as Huntington's disease - jerky, involuntary movements accompanied by progressive dementia - is likely to develop it later in life. Worried consumer and civil liberties groups say that sections of society with serious medical complaints may be left without cover. Anna Bradley, director of the National Consumer Council, said: "We would be very concerned about measures that could stop people getting insurance." Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said that genetic testing should be carried out for medical purposes only. "By allowing insurers to test for even single gene disorders you are going to get a genetic under-class. There will be enormous public opposition to this. People should not take these tests without adequate counselling." The Department of Health has set up a genetics and insurance committee of experts to monitor and regulate insurers' use of genetic tests and to agree on a series of tests that can accurately predict a life-threatening illness. The committee will regulate which laboratories are allowed to carry out the tests. Government advisers feared that unless testing was permitted, insurers would carry out the tests with no regulation. The new policy will start by September when up to seven tests will be presented to the experts for Government approval. Insurers believe that within five years, as technology develops, genetic tests will be widespread and could cover such inherited illnesses as breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's and sickle cell disease. They say that the use of tests could help people with a family history of a disease gain lower premiums because they will be able to rule out the prospect of developing the disease. The Association of British Insurers said: "Because genetic testing is in its infancy, the number of people who could take such a test is small. But the numbers could well be more of an issue in the future, in five years or less." Under the plans, insurers will not have the power to force people to take genetic tests. But they will be able to ask those with a family history of a disease to take one. They will also have the right to ask whether people have taken a genetic test and to demand to see the results. A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The genetics and insurance committee has been set up to receive applications to demonstrate the validity of tests, but the industry will have to prove that such tests are reliable. If the insurance company thinks you have a genetic condition, it can load a policy." Insurance premiums are traditionally weighted according to risk. Smokers and people with a history of chronic illness pay more. A positive test for a life-threatening illness could increase premiums five-fold. About four per cent of people applying for life assurance have to pay between 50 per cent and five times more than ordinary applicants. Around one per cent are not accepted because the risks are considered too high. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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