As changes to healthcare in the US seem imminent, patients worry that they'll lose some of the protections the Affordable Care Acts provides to people with pre-existing conditions, including genetic conditions, Kaiser Health News reports.
When Cheasanee Huette, now 22 years old, sought genetic testing a few years ago to find out whether she'd inherited Lynch syndrome from her mother, Huette knew that the law guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, Kaiser Health News adds. Though Huette is still on her father's health insurance plan, she is now "concerned about who is going to be willing to cover me, and how much will that cost" when she moves to her own plan if the ACA is replaced.
Kaiser Health News adds that the 2008 the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act prevents discrimination by health insurance based on carrying a mutation, but that protection only lasts until the patient starts show symptoms.
The current Senate healthcare bill doesn't allow insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions higher premiums, Kaiser Health News notes, adding that it does allow insurers to sell plans that don't cover certain illnesses. The House version of the bill allows insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions more if their insurance lapses.