|
KMID : 0986720220300010123
|
|
Korean Journal of Medicine and Law
2022 Volume.30 No. 1 p.123 ~ p.140
|
|
|
Recent Legal Reforms in Private Digital Healthcare Insurance and Issues: From the Perspective of Genetic Discrimination
|
|
Cho Soo-Jin
Kim Su-Min
Park Mo-Kyeong
Kim Han-Nah
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
In 2021 revised Insurance Business Act Enforcement Decree, private insurers enables to own subsidiaries that collect healthcare data or offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) services. In 2021, according to the revised Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Bioethics and Safety Act (the Bioethics Act), the authorized DTC-GT institutions are allowed to request to expand genetic testing items. However, there is no academic interest in analyzing social impacts of the recently revised laws and solving problems. Therefore, this article aims to investigate the content, social impact, and issues raised by recent legal reforms relating to digital healthcare insurance services, and to provide points-to-consider to solve the concerns.
The study identified that six life insurance companies and one property insurance company launched health care services or products for general consumers before and after the revision of the Insurance Business Act Enforcement Decree. Among them, one insurance company already signed a business agreement with a DTC-GT company to develop a genetic analysis service for consumers. Only one insurance company provided a detailed explanation in promotional material of whether personal health data was provided to a parent insurance company. In other words, if the DTC genetic testing agency is a subsidiary of a private insurer, there raises a possibility that the parent company, for instance the life insurance company, could collect various genetic information from consumers by providing third-party information. Life insurance products designed with epigenetics, in particular, warn of the risk of discrimination, specifically genetic discrimination based on genetic information. Although there is no evidence that the collected personal genetic information has been misused in private insurance sector, this does not preclude the possibility of future occurrences.
As conclusions, the study suggests several considerations to promote sound direction of the legal implementation. First, empirical research should be followed up to find out whether social concerns about collecting genetic and biometric information from private insurers exist. Second, the emerging possibility that DTC-GT results can be shared to its parent insurance company, refers the possibility of it conflicting with existing provision that prohibits genetic discrimination. This also implicates that individual genetic information might be used in life insurance in the future. Finally, relating to the second point, Article 46 of the Bioethics Act which prohibits genetic discrimination in education, employment, promotion, and insurance, must be further specified by each sector. Particularly in-depth discussion and social attention to clarify the direction in private insurance is needed.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
Insurance Business Act, Bioethics and Safety Act, Genetic Discrimination, Life Insurance, Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
|
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
|
|