Legislation Passed to Prevent Genetic Discrimination
The United States Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act in a unanimous vote. The legislation has, thus, been handed back to the Congress for approval. The legislation has the support of President Bush, as reported by the Associated Press.
Under the terms of this law, discrimination based on information that arises from genetic testing will be outlawed. People will not be at risk of losing their health insurance or their jobs, nor can it influence hiring or promotion considerations. Moreover, information gleaned from these tests cannot be used to determine health insurance premiums or factor into health insurance eligibility.
Congress has been considering forms of legislation to prevent discrimination associated with findings from genetic testing, which many are referring to as a modern day civil rights consideration. In fact, two previous bills were passed by the Senate in 2003 and 2005 with no response from the U.S. House. This has become more important with the amassing genetic information since the completion of the Human Genome Project.
Researchers and legislators note that this legislation may encourage more people to participate in genetic testing now that fear of financial or career consequences are eliminated. Early diagnosis of serious conditions can foster improved outcomes in the long run through preventive activities or participation in clinical research.
Some are concerned that this law may encourage litigation. One addition to the bill passed by the Senate was a strict delineation between career-related consequences and those associated with the health insurance industry. An important distinguishing factor is that currently existing disease states are excluded from those which may occur in the future according to findings based on genetic testing.
April 30, 2008 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Diagnostic