As a member of the cystic fibrosis (CF) community, I respectfully request your support of AB 1798, legislation that would ensure Californians are not penalized for their genetic information when applying for life or non-health disability insurance. 

Under existing law, life and non-health disability insurers may—with an applicant's consent—request or obtain genetic testing information as part of underwriting for medically underwritten policies. In some cases, insurers may also receive medical records that include genetic test results or biomarker information, even when such testing was not specifically requested or required. In each of these circumstances, current law permits insurers to use this genetic information to limit coverage or increase premiums. As more individuals use genetic testing and biomarker information to understand their health risks, maximum protections should be implemented to ensure this information cannot be used against them in insurance decisions.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic, progressive, and life-threatening rare disease. For many individuals and families, life and disability insurance serves as a critical financial safety net. However, existing practices place people with CF and CF carriers, along with the general population, at risk of discrimination based soley on genetic information, rather than their actual health status. 

AB 1798 would help address this by strengthening protections against the use of genetic information in life and non-health disability insurance underwriting by prohibiting insurers from requesting, requiring, or soliciting genetic information other than that found in medical records; asking whether an applicant or family member has undergone genetic testing; and using genetic information obtained from direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, such as Ancestry DNA. 

I respectfully ask for your support protecting consumer privacy of an individual's genetic information by voting yes on AB 1798.