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2022 JUN 10 (NewsRx) — By a
This patent application has not been assigned to a company or institution.
The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “A genetic predisposition, also known as a genetic susceptibility, is an increased likelihood of developing a particular disease due to the presence of one or more mutations or a family history that indicates an increased risk of the disease. A genetic predisposition for a disease is not a diagnosis of the disease or a guarantee that a person will contract the disease. A person with knowledge of a genetic susceptibility can implement lifestyle choices or seek medical intervention in an attempt to prevent onset of the disease, and can at least be aware of their increased risk and seek early treatment if symptoms of the disease occur.
“A carrier of a disease is a person who has inherited a recessive allele for a mutation indicative of the disease. A carrier usually does not show symptoms of the disease, but is able to pass the allele onto their offspring, who may contract the disease. A person with knowledge that he or she is a carrier of a disease can implement lifestyle choices or seek medical intervention for their children in an attempt to prevent or treat the disease, and can at least be aware of the child’s increased risk and seek early treatment if symptoms of the disease occur.
“Tests may be ordered by a medical practitioner to determine if a patient has a genetic predisposition to a disease or is a carrier of the disease. In addition, many genetic testing services have emerged recently that allow consumers to directly purchase genetic profile reports based on a person’s unique DNA. Companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com offer personalized reports that can indicate whether a person has a genetic predisposition to certain conditions or is a carrier of certain conditions.
“Despite the advantages that could be realized by genetic testing to determine a person’s genetic predispositions to disease or risk of passing a disease to offspring, some choose not to pursue genetic testing out of fear that the information revealed by their genetic profile could be used to their disadvantage. An example where genetic information could be damaging to a person is the insurance underwriting process. For example, while applying for a life insurance policy, the potential insured is asked a long series of intrusive questions regarding their physical and mental health, and in many cases a physical examination including extensive bloodwork is ordered. If the potential insured has received any medical care at all in recent years, their medical history is scrutinized, and insurance may be denied or offered at a higher premium due to increased risk. Genetic information is currently not included in the insurance underwriting process; however, for fear of being unable to obtain life insurance or of suffering other repercussions, many choose to remain ignorant of the genetic information that could improve their quality of life, improve their children’s quality of life, or even prolong their lives. Knowledge of inherited conditions could impact not only the person seeking the genetic information, but also their living relatives and generations to come.
“The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (“GINA”) is
“Alpha-1 antitrypsin (“AAT”) is a protein produced by the liver that protects the lungs from inflammation caused by infection and inhaled irritants. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, also known as AATD, Alpha-1, or inherited emphysema, is a rarely diagnosed inherited condition that raises a person’s risk for serious lung disease in adults or liver disease at any age. AATD occurs when a person’s AAT is abnormal and cannot be released from the liver at the normal rate. This leads to a build-up of abnormal AAT in the liver that can cause liver disease, and decreased levels of AAT reaching the lungs which can lead to lung disease. There is no cure for AATD, but detection and treatment can help people with AATD manage symptoms and have better quality of life. AATD can be detected using genetic testing.
“For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the specification, there is a need in the art for an improved system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action.
“Thus it is a primary object of the disclosure to provide a system for insurance underwriting that incentivizes individuals to seek genetic testing that could improve quality of life and prolong lives.
“Another object of the disclosure is to provide a system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action that incentivizes insurance providers to inform potential insureds of the advantages of genetic testing.
“Another object of the disclosure is to provide a system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action that incentivizes insurance providers to provide access to genetic testing.
“Another object of the disclosure is to provide a system for post insurance policy acceptance and post policy delivery action that incentivizes the insurance providers to provide access to genetic testing for their insureds. Thus, insureds whom were not tested for previously unknown DNA flaws, genetic diseases, and AATD may become aware of treatments that may potentially improve the quality of life for the insureds and extend their lives.
“These and other objects, features, or advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and claims.”
In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent application: “The disclosure relates to a system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action using genetic information previously obtained by an individual. The disclosure relates to a system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action using genetic information obtained through genetic testing ordered by an insurance provider. The disclosure relates to a system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action in which insurance providers supply information to insured individuals or potential insured individuals regarding the availability of genetic testing. Furthermore, the disclosure relates to a system for insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action in which insurance providers supply genetic testing to insured individuals or potential insured individuals. The disclosure relates to a system post insurance policy acceptance and post policy delivery action that incentivizes the insurance providers to provide access to genetic testing for their insureds; thus, insureds whom were not tested for previously unknown DNA flaws, genetic diseases, and AATD may become aware of treatments that may potentially improve the quality of life for the insureds and extend their lives.”
The claims supplied by the inventors are:
“1. A method of insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action comprising: obtaining personal information about an applicant; obtaining medical information about the applicant; obtaining information about the applicant’s AAT status; and determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information, medical information, and AAT status.
“2. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining information about the applicant’s AAT status comprises obtaining genetic test results indicating whether the applicant has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“3. The method of claim 2 wherein obtaining genetic test results indicating whether the applicant has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency comprises obtaining genetic test results obtained from a personal device configured to draw a blood sample from the applicant and measure a level of alpha-1 antitrypsin in the blood sample.
“4. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining information about the applicant’s AAT status comprises obtaining information about the patient’s circulating alpha-1 antitrypsin level.
“5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining whether to grant or deny an insurance policy to the applicant.
“6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a level of coverage to grant to the applicant.
“7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a premium at which to provide an insurance policy to the applicant.
“8. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing information about alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency to the applicant.
“9. The method of claim 1 wherein the applicant is referred to as an insured following the step of determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information, medical information, and AAT status, and wherein the method further comprises providing information about alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency to the insured.
“10. The method of claim 9 wherein information about alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency comprises information about where to obtain a testing device for at home testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“11. The method of claim 1 further comprising ordering a genetic test for the applicant to determine if the applicant has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“12. A method of insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action comprising: obtaining personal information about an applicant; obtaining medical information about the applicant; determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information and medical information; and obtaining test results indicating whether the applicant has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency after determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy.
“13. The method of claim 12 wherein obtaining test results indicating whether the applicant has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency comprises obtaining test results obtained from a personal device configured to draw a blood sample from the applicant and measure a level of alpha-1 antitrypsin in the blood sample.
“14. The method of claim 12 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining whether to grant or deny an insurance policy to the applicant.
“15. The method of claim 12 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a level of coverage to grant to the applicant.
“16. The method of claim 12 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a premium at which to provide an insurance policy to the applicant.
“17. The method of claim 12 further comprising providing information about alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency to the applicant.
“18. The method of claim 12 further comprising ordering a genetic test for the applicant to determine if the applicant has alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“19. A method of insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action comprising: obtaining or having obtained personal information about an applicant; obtaining or having obtained medical information about the applicant; determining if the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient by: obtaining or having obtained a biological sample from the applicant, and performing or having performed analysis on the biological sample to determine if the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient; and determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information, medical information, and the determination of whether the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient.
“20. The method of claim 19 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining whether to grant or deny an insurance policy to the applicant.
“21. The method of claim 19 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a level of coverage to grant to the applicant.
“22. The method of claim 19 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a premium at which to provide an insurance policy to the applicant.
“23. The method of claim 19 wherein performing or having performed analysis on the biological sample to determine if the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient comprises performing or having performed analysis on the biological sample using a testing device for at home testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“24. A method of insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action comprising: Obtaining or having obtained personal information about an applicant; Obtaining or having obtained medical information about the applicant; determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information and medical information; and after determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information and medical information, determining if the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient by: obtaining or having obtained a biological sample from the applicant, and analyzing or having analyzed the biological sample to determine if the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient.
“25. The method of claim 24 wherein analyzing or having analyzed the biological sample to determine if the applicant is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient comprises performing or having performed a test on the biological sample using a testing device for at home testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“26. The method of claim 24 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining whether to grant or deny an insurance policy to the applicant.
“27. The method of claim 24 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a level of coverage to grant to the applicant.
“28. The method of claim 24 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a premium at which to provide an insurance policy to the applicant.
“29. A method of insurance underwriting and post policy issuance action by an insurance provider comprising: Obtaining or having obtained personal information about an applicant; Obtaining or having obtained medical information about the applicant; determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy based on the personal information and medical information; wherein the applicant is referred to as an insured after the step of determining eligibility; and after determining the applicant’s eligibility for an insurance policy, ordering a test to determine if the insured is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient by: obtaining or having obtained a biological sample from the insured, and analyzing or having analyzed the biological sample to determine if the insured is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient.
“30. The method of claim 29 wherein analyzing or having analyzed the biological sample to determine if the insured is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficient comprises providing an at home testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
“31. The method of claim 29 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining whether to grant or deny an insurance policy to the applicant.
“32. The method of claim 29 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a level of coverage to grant to the applicant.
“33. The method of claim 29 wherein determining the applicant’s eligibility comprises determining a premium at which to provide an insurance policy to the applicant.
“34. The method of claim 29 wherein the insured is not required to provide the results of the test to the insurance provider.”
URL and more information on this patent application, see:
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