Genetic testing, Alzheimer disease, and long-term care insurance

Patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD) often need long-term care, which is poorly covered by private or governmental health insurance. Private long-term care (LTC) insurance is increasingly being marketed to provide some financial support for long term care. LTC insurance does cover AD, but the insurers will not sell policies to people who have already been diagnosed with AD. As a result, LTC insurance might be particularly attractive to individuals who are at heightened risk for developing AD. This makes the issues surrounding predictive genetic testing for AD and the use of test results in determining insurance premiums and eligibility of great concern to patients, clinicians, insurers, ethicists, and patient advocate groups. The paper examines the complexities of these issues.