People who've undergone genetic testing can be denied life insurance, CBS Philly reports.
Carolyn Koutsaftis, a healthy 46-year-old, tells the station that she was denied life insurance following a visit to a genetic counselor after her mother had tested positive for a breast cancer risk gene.
"Most people don't think that if they get a genetic test, it could ever come back to bite them, but it can," Jamie Court from Consumer Watchdog tells CBS Philly. "If you apply for life insurance, they do have a right to get all your medical records. And if you've had a genetic test taken, they do have the right to request it."
While the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prohibits discrimination based on genetic health by employers and health insurance companies, life insurers and other insurance companies can make coverage decisions based on genetic data. CBS Philly adds that if people have undergone testing, but don't provide the results to life insurers, they could be accused of fraud.
Instead, CBS Philly says experts advise people pursuing genetic testing to first obtain life insurance.