House Approves Bill to Prevent Genetic Discrimination
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, following the Senate. The bill was passed one day before National DNA Day. Only one member of the House, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), voted against the Act.
The bill, already unanimously approved by the Senate, prevents discrimination based on information gleaned through genetic testing. Any genetic information that employers become privy to must be privately maintained and can only be shared in the strictest of circumstances. Information about the bill was previously described on HospitalBuyer after it was initially passed, including the mandates related to health insurers.
The passage of this bill will require the development of specific standards related to information contained in either paper or electronic formats. This will delineate the steps required to ensure integrity and confidentiality of this private information. This would modify standard processes utilized with computer systems that store such information, as well as general handling.
The White House notes the support of President Bush, who plans to sign the bill into law. Legislators have been working for well over ten years to procure sufficient support required to enact the law.
May 7, 2008 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Privacy