How to answer a genetic testing and life insurance question in a medical school interview
- Kind
- Policy and health systems
Prompt
Should life insurance companies be allowed to use a person's genetic test results when deciding whether to cover them and how much to charge?
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How to approach this question
What this question tests
- Health systems and advocacy
- Ethical reasoning
- Critical thinking
How to approach it
This panel interview question tests whether you can weigh fairness to individuals against how insurance works, with genetic discrimination as the case. Name the stakeholders: people who carry a genetic risk they did nothing to cause, insurers who need to price risk, other customers who pay premiums, and people who might avoid learning about their genetics out of fear. Explain the core tension, which is that insurance pools risk, but using genetic information can turn an accident of birth into a penalty. Consider middle positions, such as limits on how the information can be used or a coverage amount below which insurers can't ask. Weigh the risk that people hide information from insurers against the risk of discrimination. Then take a clear position and explain the policy you'd support.
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