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On April 24, 2008, the Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). This amended version of H.R. 493 (which was passed by the House of Representatives on April 25, 2007 by a vote of 420-3) was approved by unanimous consent. Now the House must take up the measure again and adopt it before it can be sent to President Bush to sign the measure into law. H.R. 493 would prohibit insurance providers from denying or canceling insurance coverage or varying the terms and conditions of health insurance coverage on the basis of genetic information. It would also prohibit insurance providers from requesting or requiring an individual to disclose genetic information and from disclosing genetic information without prior written consent. These safeguards are crucial to keep scientific advances from becoming cruelly misused in our society. The bill would also prohibit genetic discrimination by employers, an important aspect of this serious problem, because the fear of job loss or other employment discrimination can be a pernicious barrier to needed testing and research. The legislation, when signed will provide a clear and consistent process to protect individuals from genetic discrimination. Currently, individuals have been protected by a largely untested patchwork of state and federal regulations. This lack of clarity has left the majority of our citizens concerned that results of a genetic test could be used in ways that are harmful to the person. With successful enactment of this legislation, health care providers can advise their patients and research participants that their genetic information will now be protected against misuse by employers and health insurers. Sen. Coburn (R-OK) had previously had a hold on the bill which he released after he had an opportunity to clearly review the revised House bill language. GINA was passed by the Senate in 2003 and 2005 but previously ran into difficulty getting through Committee in the House. With House passage early in 2007, this cleared the way for swift Senate action. ANA has supported genetic non-discrimination legislation since its initial introduction in the 104th Congress and will continue to work in support of its enactment this year. |