House approves bill that bans discrimination based on genetics

The House on Wednesday voted 420-3 to approve a bill (HR 493), sponsored by Rep.

Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), that would prohibit health insurers or employers from accessing the genetic information of patients or employees and considering it for hiring, firing and other business decisions, CQ Today reports (Armstrong, CQ Today , 4/25). The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Jan. 31 approved a similar bill (S 358), sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Snowe has said she introduced the legislation, called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007, because some women have said they were reluctant to be tested for genetic alterations that indicate increased risk of developing breast cancer because they feared difficulty in acquiring health insurance if they tested positive ( Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/15).

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has placed a hold on the Senate legislation. According to CQ Today , Coburn said that he and his staff were working on several objections to the measure but would not give more details. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), chair of the HELP committee, said he thought Coburn's concerns could be addressed ( CQ Today , 4/25).

Business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have lobbied against such measures, saying that federal law on the issue is not needed because state laws already provide protection against such discrimination (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/15). Michael Eastman, executive director of labor policy at the chamber, said the bill would impose more medical privacy regulations that are inconsistent with current law. He added that the law would allow states to set their own, and perhaps, different rules and would allow for excessive lawsuit damages.

The White House in a statement said, "The administration wants to work with Congress to further perfect this legislation and to make genetic discrimination illegal and provide individuals with fair, reasonable protections against improper use of their genetic information." The House bill now goes to the Senate (Dunham, Reuters, 4/25).