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23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

blog.23andme.com

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Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#71

Post by agotterer »

r3demon wrote: post #18

Will they give my genotype information to FBI or CIA? Will they pay damages if information gets stolen? This is not some passwords or account numbers, this is data about real world which can't be changed.

It's sort of sudo anonymized. I purchased my test in 2010. The account is tied to my email address for login. I ordered the test under just my first name to my office at the time. I also purchased a test for a friend. Other then an email address, that test isn't tied to him in any other way. So while its not impossible to tie back to someone, it's not a perfect 1:1 relationship.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#72

Post by rsuttongee »

I think one of the most compelling stories as to why 23andme (and other genotyping services) is amazing is Sergey Brin's:

http://too.blogspot.com/2008/09/lrrk2.html

Because of 23andme he found out early that he has a high chance of getting parkinson's disease. He now has the chance to prevent (or at least prepare for) it.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#73

Post by Joeri »

martincmartin wrote: post #41
apaprocki wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 which covers these topics. Some relevant parts are available here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00493 : edit: Specifically, "`(A) IN GENERAL- For purposes of this section, a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, may not adj…

Gender is determined genetically, and men and woman have different life expectancies. Does this mean you can't charge men and women different rates (all else being equal)?

The european court of justice has already ruled that price discrimination based on gender for insurance premiums is sex discrimination and therefore in violation of fundamental human rights.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-11-123_en.htm?loca...

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#74

Post by swalsh »

Rickasaurus wrote: post #4

I paid in at their first $99 discounted rate (2010) and was very disappointed when they tried to demand a non-discounted new sample for newer tests about a year later. If I had paid the full $500 I would have been downright peeved. Still, I'm glad I did it, 23andMe is a very enlightening experience. I even found some distant relatives I never knew about.

I've been considering it too, it feels like as of recently the new findings coming out were done with new SNP's not tested previously. I'm just paranoid that i'll have to keep doing it ever 3 years. For now, i'm planning on waiting until there's a result i'm truly interested in.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#75

Post by mtgx »

martincmartin wrote: post #41
apaprocki wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 which covers these topics. Some relevant parts are available here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00493 : edit: Specifically, "`(A) IN GENERAL- For purposes of this section, a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, may not adj…

Gender is determined genetically, and men and woman have different life expectancies. Does this mean you can't charge men and women different rates (all else being equal)?

That would be the same as charging women different for being more prone to car accidents.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#76

Post by mhb »

jerf wrote: post #45
mhb wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just privacy or human rights; it's an apparently pervasive misconception about what insurance is. The premise of insurance is that you are insuring against the unknown. If you know that something is the matter with you, then it's no longer insurance. It's getting someone to pay for a treatment that you know you will need. Whether other people should be paying for that is another discussion.

While I think it is important for people to understand the difference between health insurance and a health care plan , there's no actual problem with people banding together and creating health care plans that are no longer, strictly speaking, insurance. I do think a nontrivial amount of the mess in the health care system is the confusion between the two. People want to create health care plans, but they are trying…

I think that the more certainty people have about their future medical issues the less likely health care plan groups are to work. What incentive does a future-healthy person have to join with someone who is certain to have high expenses? And why would you trust someone to tell you that they haven't been tested and know what lies ahead?

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#78

Post by jellicle »

apaprocki wrote: post #24
dsplittgerber wrote: post #16

Is the most obvious question being adressed in any jurisdiction yet? - Do you legally have to disclose your results to any insurance company you already have an existing contract with or prior to any new insurance contract? By chance, I just read a typical life insurance contract and it already stated that if you have undergone a genetic testing, you do have to disclose your results if you enter into a life insurance…

In the US, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 which covers these topics. Some relevant parts are available here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00493 : edit: Specifically, "`(A) IN GENERAL- For purposes of this section, a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan, may not adj…

Note that it doesn't prevent discrimination for life insurance, disability insurance or long-term care insurance; if you get a dangerous condition in your DNA testing you'll never get any of those types of insurance again.

Also note the limitations are not very comprehensive. Health insurers could use genetic info and then find ways to deny you coverage on a technicality (didn't disclose tonsilitis at age 4 - DENIED). There's no civil remedy in the law so it would be up to you to petition the Federal government to carry out some sort of enforcement action against insurers, which seems less than likely.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#79

Post by cma »

tejaswiy wrote: post #19
Rickasaurus wrote: post #4

I paid in at their first $99 discounted rate (2010) and was very disappointed when they tried to demand a non-discounted new sample for newer tests about a year later. If I had paid the full $500 I would have been downright peeved. Still, I'm glad I did it, 23andMe is a very enlightening experience. I even found some distant relatives I never knew about.

Honest question: Why would you need newer tests? Isn't your genetic code fixed along with all the risks it implies?

They do genetic testing, not genetic sequencing. They don't have your whole code.

Re: 23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M genotyped customers

#80

Post by hop »

In other news, 23andMe introduced relative finder not long ago. I hadn't logged on in over 2 years after I did it with a groupon promo, but I had a public profile with my name and city. A half-sister i didn't know i had found me with matching DNA, owns a business 5 blocks away and walked over to meet me (what's the probability of that!?). Found my dad was not my biological dad and i was from the same sperm donor as my new sister. That was a weird week...
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