A bill aiming to prevent genetic discrimination could give people a better quality of life, a Toronto pediatrician told a Parliamentary committee today.
Justice and Human Rights Committee hears from experts concerning Bill S-201 | Photo – Liam Harrap
Bill S-201 prohibits genetic discrimination in that individuals would not be required to take or disclose the results of a genetic test for employers or insurance companies. The bill is designed to prevent denial of services nationwide because of a pre-existing genetic condition.
“We need to take steps to protect people’s genetic information,” said Bruce Ryder, an associate professor at York University. Currently there’s little legislation in Canada protecting people’s genetic information.
The bill was brought forward by Liberal Senator James Cowan. It’s his third attempt at this piece of legislation since 2013.
“Using genetic information allows physicians to treat the actual person, not the average patient,” said Cowan in a phone interview.
Proponents of the bill say that current laws have made people hesitant to take part in medical research out of fear that employers or insurers will be able to access the results and deny coverage or employment.
“Genetic discrimination is a frequent problem and affects thousands of people across the country,” Ronald Cohn, pediatrician-in-chief at the Hospital for Sick Children, told the committee. Cohn called the lack of legislation “paralyzing” for physicians, as patients may not get the medical care they urgently need.
Cohn claims that when it comes to genetic research, over 35 per-cent of people currently do not participate due to fear of genetic discrimination.
“As a physician, currently, I am unable to provide the best standard of care for my patients,” Cohn said, “In an ideal world, you want to prevent your patient from getting sick, instead of just treating them when they become ill.”
Cohn argues that this bill will reduce costs overall for the healthcare industry, as physicians will catch illnesses before they become serious and costly. “The preventative power of genetic knowledge will allow people to live longer,” he said.
According to Cowan, there were 2,000 tests available when the bill was first introduced – now, there are 50,000. He said it’s time the law catches up with science.
Insurance companies strongly oppose the legislation due to concerns that the insurer wouldn’t have an accurate assessment of a person’s risk.
Brent Mizzen, assistant vice president of Underwriting and Policy at Canadian Life and Health Insurance, said in a phone interview that the bill violates the principle of equal information. As a result, insurance companies would not be able to make fair risk assessments when it comes to offering insurance.
“It has always been an industry standard, that people do not have to take genetic testing. There’s no insurance that requires you to do so. In some cases, if you have taken genetic testing, you are required to provide the results to the insurer,” said Mizzen.
Robert Howard, former president of Canadian Institute of Actuaries, argued that genetic discrimination doesn’t exist, since genetic tests are voluntary.
Howard also said the bill would lead to an increase in insurance rates for the public.
According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, which 99 per-cent of insurance companies are members, insurance premiums could increase by 30-50 per-cent. Mizzen warns that the proposed increases may result in more Canadians unable to afford insurance, resulting in fewer Canadians being covered.
Canada is one of the only Western countries with no protection against genetic discrimination. While there have not been any significant insurance increases in other countries with genetic discrimination legislation in place, Mizzen said it’s possible that not enough time has passed to see the increases take effect.
The committee will meet again this Thursday.
Header photo by Liam Harrap.
