Advocates of the Affordable Healthcare Act like to tout that the legislation prevents insurance companies from discriminating based on preexisting conditions. Those advocates better get busy because if they don’t believe discriminating based on preexisting conditions for insurance companies is right they’re going to have a field day with this story:
A California boy has been ordered to transfer to another middle school because he carries the gene for cystic fibrosis, even though he doesn’t actually have the incurable, life-threatening and non-infectious disease. His parents have gone to court to fight the move.
Their son, 11-year-old Colman Chadam, was told last week that he’d have to transfer from Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto, Calif., to a school three miles away because he posed a risk to another student at school who does have the disease, according to TODAY.
[…]
While it is not contagious, doctors say people with cystic fibrosis can pose a danger to each other through bacterial cross-contamination if they are in close contact.
Nobody should be surprised that the state is discriminating based on genetics. This country has a long history of discriminating against individuals based on genetics. From the genocide of the American Indians to the “separate by equal” public facilities for African Americans the United States government and the governments of the individual states have demonstrated a love for genetics based discrimination.
Here’s the real kicker: is it justified to remove a child from a school if he or she has a preexisting genetic condition? If so why it is justified for public schools but not insurance companies? If not how come (considering the school’s decision was backed by a doctor)?