5 ms·

I had this conversation with my uncle tonight. He's super interested in finding out where he's from, but he steadfastly refuses to do so because of his fear of

I had this conversation with my uncle tonight. He's super interested in finding out where he's from, but he steadfastly refuses to do so because of his fear of insurance hikes and how it will be abused in the future. I'm right there with him, and it's horrible to think that it'll be done without consent (cough Credit Scores cough)

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
ben_w 8y ago
Insurance, if not the rest, could be solved if you have a system like the UK (public) or Germany (private) where it’s a fixed percentage of income and mandatory for all. I recommend campaigning for it, assuming you’re in the USA.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  That solves basic health insurance, but doesn't help with mortgage or even car insurance, where I'd expect DNA to become an influencing factor too.
- krrrh 8y ago
  The US actually passed federal legislation a decade ago that prohibits insurance discrimination on the basis of genetic information. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Information_Nondiscrimination_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Information_Nondiscr... As I recall from purchasing health insurance in Germany (mandated, and the public option wasn’t available to me as a freelancer), there was price discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, which is currently illegal in the US. The monthly cost was capped at over 600€ Basispreis per individual (this was a couple of years ago), and if you hadn’t visited a hospital for a couple of years and were a healthy man in your 30s and chose to conceal any persitant issues you had been diagnosed with, you could find an offering for closer to 200€. The determination of how pre-existing conditions would affect the price was completely arbitrary and unreasonable, and a significant deterrent to seeking timely care. I’m not aware whether you could choose to not disclose genetic conditions and have your insurance be valid.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

ben_w 8y ago

Insurance, if not the rest, could be solved if you have a system like the UK (public) or Germany (private) where it’s a fixed percentage of income and mandatory for all. I recommend campaigning for it, assuming you’re in the USA.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
That solves basic health insurance, but doesn't help with mortgage or even car insurance, where I'd expect DNA to become an influencing factor too.
krrrh 8y ago
The US actually passed federal legislation a decade ago that prohibits insurance discrimination on the basis of genetic information. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Information_Nondiscrimination_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Information_Nondiscr... As I recall from purchasing health insurance in Germany (mandated, and the public option wasn’t available to me as a freelancer), there was price discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, which is currently illegal in the US. The monthly cost was capped at over 600€ Basispreis per individual (this was a couple of years ago), and if you hadn’t visited a hospital for a couple of years and were a healthy man in your 30s and chose to conceal any persitant issues you had been diagnosed with, you could find an offering for closer to 200€. The determination of how pre-existing conditions would affect the price was completely arbitrary and unreasonable, and a significant deterrent to seeking timely care. I’m not aware whether you could choose to not disclose genetic conditions and have your insurance be valid.