Frameshift

“Politely, Mr. Tardivel, that’s a matter of interpretation. The new California law is the first of its kind in the nation; in every other state, having bad genes does amount to a preexisting condition, even if you’re asymptomatic. Even those few states that do have anti-genetic-discrimination laws — Florida, Ohio, Iowa, a couple of others — even they make exceptions for insurance companies, allowing them to use actuarial or claims experience in deciding whom to insure and what premiums to charge.”

Pierre frowned. “But what you’re saying is, because we’re in California, if I wait until January first, you won’t be able to reject me on the basis of my family history?”

“No, we’ll still be able to do that — that’s valid information that you’re a high-risk candidate, and we’re not obligated to give policies to high-risk people.”

“Then what’s the difference?”

“The difference is that genetic information supersedes family-history information. Do you see? If we have concrete genetic info, it takes precedence over anything we might infer from the medical histories of your parents or siblings. If you take the genetic test, then, under the new state law, we have to give you a policy regardless of its results related to Huntington’s disease. Even if the test proves that you do have the Huntington’s gene, we still have to insure you as long as you apply before you have any symptoms; we can’t reject you or charge you a higher premium based on actual genetic information.”

“Wait a minute — that’s crazy. If I don’t take the test, you’ve got a fifty-fifty shot that I’ll end up making a lot of claims due to my Huntington’s, and so you reject me because of my family history. But if I do take the test, and even if it’s a hundred percent definite that I will get Huntington’s and therefore make a lot of claims, you will insure me?”

“That’s right, or at least it will be, after January first, because of the new law.”

“But I don’t want to take the Huntington’s test.”

“Really? I’d have thought you’d like to know.”

“No. No, I don’t. Hardly any Huntington’s at-risks have taken the test.

Most of us don’t want to know for sure.”

Tiffany shrugged a little. “Well, if you want to be insured, it’s your only option. Look, why don’t you fill out the forms today, but date them January — well, January second: the first business day in the new year. I’ll call you up then, and you can let me know what you want to do. If you’ve already taken the test by that point, or are prepared to take it, I’ll put the policy application in; if not, I’ll just tear it up.”

It was obvious that Tiffany simply didn’t want to risk losing a sale, but, dammit, this had already taken far too much time; Pierre certainly didn’t want to go through the same rigmarole again with somebody else. “I’d like to see some other plans before I make my decision,” he said.

“Of course.” She showed Pierre a variety of policies: the predictable Silver and Bronze Plans, with progressively fewer benefits; a hospital-only plan; a drug-only plan; and so on. But Tiffany pressed hard for the Gold Plan, and Pierre finally agreed, telling himself he would have made exactly the same decision even if her blouse had been done up all the way.

“You won’t regret your choice,” said Tiffany. “You’re not just buying health insurance — you’re buying peace of mind.” She got a form from her briefcase and handed it to Pierre. “If you could just fill this out — and don’t forget to date it January second.” She opened the left side of her jacket.

There was a pocket inside the jacket, with a row of identical retractable ballpoint pens clipped to it. She extracted one, closed her jacket, and handed the pen to Pierre.

He pressed down on the pen’s button with his thumb, extending the point, and filled out the forms. When he was done, he handed the form back to her, and absently went to put the pen in his own breast pocket.

Tiffany pointed at it. “My pen… ?” she said.

Pierre smiled sheepishly and handed it back to her. “Sorry.”

“So, I’ll call you at the beginning of the year,” she said. “But be careful between now and then — we wouldn’t want anything to happen to you before you’re insured.”

“I still don’t know if I’m going to take the test,” he said.

She nodded. “It’s up to you.”

Pierre thought, It hardly seems that way, but decided not to argue the point further.

Chapter 10