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E-Letter responses to:

p-forum:
Amy L. McGuire, Mildred K. Cho, Sean E. McGuire, and Timothy Caulfield
MEDICINE: The Future of Personal Genomics
Science 2007; 317: 1687 [Summary] [Full text] [PDF]
*E-Letters: Submit a response to this article

Published E-Letter responses:

[Read E-Letter] Personal Genomics in Universal Health Care
Nancy Ellen Abrams   (4 January 2008)

Personal Genomics in Universal Health Care 4 January 2008
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Nancy Ellen Abrams
Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA

Respond to this E-Letter:
Re: Personal Genomics in Universal Health Care

The Policy Forum "The future of personal genomics" ( A. L. McGuire, 21 September 2007, p. 1687) describes tremendously exciting progress, but your article does not mention the biggest roadblock to such research in the United States. Genetic information can only be beneficial in a universal health care system. Here, where health care coverage can be denied based on any "pre-existing condition," the very existence of this information is potentially disastrous, and only the richest people will want it. There aren't enough of them to avoid the consequent lack of demand, and this will impede research. The United States will medically fall behind countries with universal health care.

Nancy Ellen Abrams

Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, 575 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)