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RACGP welcomes government ban on genetic testing discrimination in life insurance

Royal Australian College of GPs < 1 mins read

The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) welcomes the Federal Government announcing it will legislate to ban the use of genetic test results in life insurance underwriting. 

In a submission in response to a Federal Treasury consultation paper, the RACGP said the medical benefits of genetic testing risked being lost if Australians avoid testing because it could lead to them being denied insurance. 

RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said: “The RACGP welcomes the Government announcing that it will legislate a full ban on the use of adverse genetic testing results by life insurers. 

“Genetic testing has great potential to improve health outcomes for Australians, and people shouldn’t be afraid to get tested for fear that they’ll be denied insurance.  

“Genetic tests enable us to identify and manage risks for conditions that can be life threatening, such as familial breast cancer. Patients must be protected against genetic discrimination based on adverse results.” 

~ENDS


About us:

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is the peak representative organisation for general practice, the backbone of Australia’s health system. We set the standards for general practice, facilitate lifelong learning for GPs, connect the general practice community, and advocate for better health and wellbeing for all Australians.

Visit www.racgp.org.au. To unsubscribe from RACGP media releases, click here.


Contact details:

John Ronan
Media Adviser

Ally Francis
Media Adviser

Stuart Winthrope
Media Officer

Contact: 03 8699 0992media@racgp.org.au

Follow us on Twitter: @RACGP and Facebook.

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