AMA Campaign Stops Genetic Testing 'Free-For-All'

As part of the policy, life insurers agreed they would not initiate or induce any genetic testing on life insurance applicants.

In its draft determination, the ACCC refused authorisation on the grounds that a collective agreement by insurers to prevent the offer of lower premiums based on genetic test results was anti-competitive.

AMA Vice President, Dr Trevor Mudge, said the ACCC had now reversed this determination after the AMA and other groups had argued that the public benefit of IFSA's policy outweighed the anti-competitive effect.

"This decision now prevents life insurance companies from setting up a free-for-all on genetic testing, as the industry itself has responsibly requested," Dr Mudge said.

"It means insurance companies will not be able to ask life insurance applicants to undergo new genetic testing, for any reason."

Dr Mudge said this was just one example of the raw application of Trade Practices law being outweighed by the public benefit and there were many other examples in the health area.

"However it's important to point out that, under contract law, insurers can still ask life insurance applicants for the results of any previous genetic tests," he said.

Dr Mudge said the AMA had overall concerns about the way genetic testing could be used by third parties, including life insurers, to discriminate against consumers.

"The AMA is lobbying for legislation which outlaws genetic discrimination and protects genetic privacy. We will continue to lobby governments, government agencies and industry bodies on this issue and wait for the results of the joint inquiry into gene technology between the Australian Health Ethics Committee and the Australian Law Reform Commission," he said.