House Ways and Means committee passes bill to prohibit genetic discrimination

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday by voice vote unanimously approved a bill (HR 493) that would ban discrimination against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests, CongressDaily reports.

The legislation would prohibit group health plans from collecting genetic information and from requesting, requiring or purchasing such information for insurance underwriting. Insurers also would be prohibited from acquiring genetic information before an individual enrolls in a health plan. In addition, employers would be barred from collecting genetic information or using it in hiring or firing decisions (CongressDaily, 3/21). The House Committee on Rules will be required to combine three amended versions of the legislation into one bill, and House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said lawmakers have not yet decided exactly how to combine the amended bills (Armstrong, CQ Today, 3/21). The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday is slated to mark up the legislation before it moves to the House floor (Congress Daily, 3/21). Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said that he thinks the measure has "support on both sides of the aisle as well as the White House" (CQ Today, 3/21).

Broadcast Coverage
NPR's "All Things Considered" on Thursday reported on the legislation. The segment includes comments from Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH; Janet Trautwein, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters; and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), sponsor of the bill (Rovner, "All Things Considered," NPR, 3/21). Audio and a transcript of the segment are available online.

"All Things Considered" on Thursday also included a discussion with Kathy Hudson -- founder and director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center and an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics -- about the bill, which she supported in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee (Norris, "All Things Considered," NPR, 3/21). Audio of the segment is available online.