thats what i would say to you
since this could affect many of you
eg
25% of you carry the gene apoe4 which can put
you at the potential risk for having alzheimers disease
as you get older
you can chose to be tested for it
easily through a cheek swab and send it off to some
company like 22 and me
they will check that genetic test for you
as well as lots of others
like cystic fibrosis huntingtons disease alzheimers disesae
etc to name a few
you if you decide to do a genetic test
you freely make that decision
now there are consequences of having that information
especially if it appears in your medical record
first
you should understand what that genetic test means
to you and your family
when i had my apoe 4 test done i sort of understood it
but it really took me some time to read enough about it
to really understand its full meaning
these tests shouldnt be done lightly without some thought
there are social and psychological consequences
you may be finding out you have a terminal disease
are you ready really ready to know that information
some folks cant really handle the bad news
this has ramifications for the family your kids your grandkids
if they could be affected by this disease
then
if this information appears in our medical record
you might not be able to get health insurance if the new health law
doesnt protect you
at best you would be put in the high risk expensive pool
you probably wont be able to get disability insurance
you probably wont be able to get life insurance
or if you do it will be at much much higher premiums
you wont be able to get long term insurance
so
in congress a new law that just went through committee
got passed and will go to the full congress to consider
this bill will allow your employer as part of their wellness program
to test you for genetic diseases
if you decide not to you will pay much much higher premiums for
your insurance
if you decide to do it
then you are at risk to getting fired if certain
diseases show up on your test
and
at risk for having all those problems above from being put on your
medical records
i have seen things from employee wellness programs leak over to the
employer with consequences for the employee
eg
if i had been tested when i was working
i would not have been able to get my long term care insurance
i would not have been able to get my disability policy
that paid me for 6 years after i was diagnosed
a loss of income of several thousands of dollars
i would not have been able to get my term life insurance policy
these decisions to be tested for these genetic tests
need to be kept private
they have important consequences
this bill hr1313 in congress is sponsored by the republicans
as part of the new health care law
its disguised as part of the employer wellness programs
it passed through committee
all republicans voted for it
all democrats voted against it
this is disturbing to me
since it has some much ramifications for so many people
i am not sure
how can it be a partisan issue
how can to be a political issue
since it affects all of us
possibly adversely no matter our political beliefs
is it just caught up in the push to get the new health bill through
for those of you who are republican
you should be concerned about his
if you are carrying a gene for a disease that you are trying to protect
yourself or your family from
if you are considering to get tested on your own timeline
you need to contact your congress person to complain
loudly
there are some decisions that should be left to the individual
this is definitely one of them
the organicgreen doctor
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