My new insurance company made me take a saliva test when I applied for coverage.?

Question

Why is this? What are they testing for? Please provide a source.

Answer 1

They use it to test different things. Normally, its testing for nicotine, HIV/ AIDS and illegal drugs. The nicotine test is for making sure you are not a smoker & paying the non-smoker rate. Smokers tend to pay more for a policy because of the health issues. The same applies to HIV/AIDS & drugs. The one difference with the smoking & the other 2 is that they can deny you a policy if you test possitive for them.

It is normally required that you do it in place of a full physical exam which would include urine test, blood drawn, height & weight measure & blood pressure test by a medic that comes to your house. It depends on the policy type that requires them for particular underwriting.

They are not trying to clone you by stealing DNA. It is perfectly legal & legit.

Answer 2

It is legal to do the test but it is NOT legal to not disclose WHY you are required to take it and what it will be used for.

By the way...you CANNOT test for HIV by a saliva test...no hospital on the planet uses that.

Answer 3

Sound like they took DNA to check for diseases.  Check with your State Insurance Commissioner.  It is illegal.

Answer 4

There are some really misinformed people answering on here, and some completely misguided ranting and raving.

First of all, THIS TEST WAS DONE WITH YOUR PERMISSION. I grant that you don't remember it among all the papers you signed.  Among them however was a paper with a title like...Authorization to Obtain and Disclose Information.  In there, by your signature, you authorized all kinds of testing.  

SALIVA testing:  

TOBACCO: saliva samples can be used to test for cotinine (a nicotine metabolite).

HIV: the test does not look for the HIV itself. Rather, it looks for antibodies to the virus which are detectable in low concentrations. (HIV cannot be communicated through saliva)

DRUGS: Various drugs can be detected with varying degrees of accuracy.  Since saliva testing is not deemed as reliable as blood testing, if the insurance company gets a positive report on drugs or HIV, the probability is that they will then request a blood sample to confirm or rule it out.

DNA SAMPLING; There is absolutely no truth to any insurance company collecting DNA samples.  DNA data actually scares the h**l out of them.  I know. I sat in on many legal meetings discussing all aspects of this. None revolved around us running the tests. We agonized over the people who voluntarily tested themselves and how we would deal with it.  BOTTOM LINE: Don't worry about this simple test.  They are doing nothing illegal, nor anything you did not authorize.  It's going to be OK..

Answer 5

Ricks got it.....alway be honest...even with insurance agents.

Answer 6

You submitted to such a test without even knowing what is was for and what use would be made of the test?  I think you should go back and ask those questions.  I have never had to do that in my life.  You don't indicate what type of insurance, but I have not had to do that for any type of insurance, even health insurance.

Answer 7

Are you sure it was a saliva test or were they taking a DNA sample?  Personally, I'm not for allowing insurance companies to take DNA samples and build databases that we have no control over.  For example, the Medical Information Bureau is where insurance companies go for information about your health.   It is a kind of credit bureau for health and you have absolutely and unequivocally no control over what goes into this database.  You can't even get a copy of what's in the file.  You have no idea who is using the information or how it is being used or by whom it is being used.  What's scarry is that foreign governments could be using DNA samples collected by insurance companies to build germ warfare that would attack specific races or blood types or gene pools.  Furthermore, scientists who might have few morals can use DNA samples to do genetic testing that could cause you to be excluded from jobs in the future or that could cause you to be placed on some kind of threat list because of a propensity to develop certain diseases.  

I'm thinking that I would tell the insurance company to go to h**l or provide you with a good reason for  taking a "saliva test" and I would make sure that I wrote on the application that they have no right to release any information collected to anyone for any reason without your express written permission.  If we citizens don't get smart and protect ourselves and our bodily fluids and information, we can only blame ourselves when discrimination or germ warfare is used.