Nords, I'm always interested in your perspective, so let us know when the blog posts are up.
Bumping up this thread. I would be interested to know if anyone tried this genetic testing service and whether the results are useful to them. Thank you.
Took me a long time to get through it and write it up, but it's posted:
23andMe genetic testing
To clear up a couple of points in my earlier posts on this thread, Congress has legislated federal protection of genomes for health insurance and employment. In other words, health insurers and employers are not allowed to discriminate against you in those two areas-- for whatever that's worth. The legal reference link is in the blog post. Thanks to all those of you here who got me started on the research.
There is no legal protection (that I'm aware of) of one's genome for long-term care insurance, disability insurance, or life insurance. If an insurance company wants to spend the money to analyze your genome and decline coverage, then they're within their rights. Of course they could also charge you a risk-based premium, too. Or you could hope that they'd offer you a discount for a higher-quality genome.
I've always wanted to be fully informed of my health info, even if it's adverse. This genetic testing only reinforced that confirmation bias. Consider that context as you read the following paragraphs.
If you're contemplating starting a family, get your genome analyzed. Simple as that. Don't cheat yourself. $99 is a freakin' bargain. I don't give a crap if you're descended from Methusaleh and The Highlander, because you never know what other surprises you're hypothetically capable of passing on to your hypothetical kids. I understand this is a controversial stance for at least one or two posters here, and I'm not going to offer any advice on whether you'd decide to have kids (or not) as a result of the testing. I'm merely suggesting that foreknowledge allows you to prepare yourself mentally (and financially) for parenthood. And, if you're a spiritual person, for focused prayers. But of course if you're a parent then you're already praying.
In my case, I turned out to be a carrier for cystic fibrosis and hemochromatosis. Nobody on either side of my family tree, going back at least five generations, ever said a word about either of these. (They might not have even known.) Yeah, those genes are double recessive and the first is fairly apparent, but it's possible to not show the latter symptoms for years. Who knows what dark secrets are lurking in the heart of your genome (even 23andMe only analyzes a fraction), but I wouldn't be willing to take a 25%-50% risk of inflicting my carrier disease just for the sake of having descendants. Even worse, last month I learned of at least one (very distant) relative who's barely entering adulthood with CF and is currently facing a 10% copay on a $750K double-lung transplant. I suspect that their parents would've happily ponied up a lot more than $99 for genetic analysis if it had existed before they started their family. If I'd had a genetic profile before I procreated in 1992 then I would've wanted some form of fetal testing as well. I think my spouse would've concurred with that pregnancy risk, assuming she would've even proceeded to procreate with me in the first place.
23andMe confirmed that my daughter is indeed my daughter. (Or at least 85%.) But she's suspected that all of her life (and that's what her mother told her), so she's already at peace with the confirmation.
On a more serious note, I have only disclosed my Alzheimer's genetic analysis to my spouse, my daughter, and one other close friend. Based on their advice (and because you can't un-share) I'm not ready to discuss that any further. I'd rather that my writing be judged on its own merits, such as they currently are. I'll continue to write on that subject from time to time, although Bob DeMarco and his co-authors do a much better job over at the Alzheimer's Reading Room.
Break. Different subject:
I think that this wraps up my final thread. (If you disagree, please contact me to let me know what other thread needs my update.) A couple of my long-time threads (like the book and the "covering a mortgage" analysis) will continue to update on the blog. Blog posts go up on Monday/Wednesday/Thursday mornings, or you can subscribe in a RSS reader, or you can subscribe by e-mail.
I'll never say never(!), but I don't currently plan to start any more threads on this site. I've subscribed to a few threads (vBulletin might alert me if they're updated), and I may drop by occasionally to search on a keyword or to use the FAQ Archives. I've built up a pretty good reference library here over the years and I'll continue to use it as long as it's available.
I plan to do [-]more surfing[/-] most of my writing on personal finance blogs and military sites, and eventually another book or two. I moderate the Military Family Finances forum at Dollar Stretcher. As several of you already know, I'm also occasionally active on the Mr. Money Mustache forum.
The best way to reach me is by PM or e-mail. (Or feel free to leave a blog comment!) I have a Twitter account and a Facebook page for the book and a Linkedin profile. I respond to all of them, but I'm happiest to answer questions on military personal finance-- especially if the answer leads to a blog post and could be used in a book. (I'll keep your identity anonymous because your story/advice appeals to more readers when they can't discern your service or rank.) Guest posts are certainly welcome, too, because readers respond well to personal stories and "I learned from..." advice. If you've never written a guest post before then give me a couple paragraphs and I'll take it from there.
As always, your contribution to my writing means that you get to vote on which military charities get the revenues. Mahalo.
