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Rochester, N.Y. -- People who undergo increasingly popular genetic testing could be penalized, forced to pay higher premiums or denied coverage for certain policies.
"Before the genetic testing became so commonplace, it's something that wouldn't have been a factor in consideration for insurance policies, so I definitely think it's a problem with the law the way it's written," said Cindy Dykes, a cancer survivor.
Authored by Rep. Louise Slaughter, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, known as GINA, bans employers and health insurers from seeking the results of genetic tests.
But the 2008 federal law has a loophole. It does not apply to life, long-term care or disability insurance. So for those policies, insurers can raise premiums or deny coverage based a person's genetics.
"It kind of skews what they are seeing about me," said Dykes, a healthy, active 54-year-old who has been living cancer free for eight years now.
Well aware of the cost of health care and thinking about their family's future, Dykes and her husband applied for life and long-term care insurance in October, 2013. Dykes filled out...