Genetic Discrimination Bill Passes Congress
Amy Harmon of the New York Times writes today about Congress’s overwhelming vote on May 1, for a bill that prohibits discrimination by health insurers and employers based on a person’s genes.
This Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act protects consumers and prevents insurance companies from using genetic information to deny benefits or raise premiums for individual policies, and prevents employers from hiring, firing or setting compensation based on genetic information.
The implications of this bill, should it become law, may continue to have a positive impact on the healthcare situation for all Americans. The story quotes Karen Pollitz, director of the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University and head of the healthinsuranceinfo.net project:
“Ultimately unlocking all these genetic secrets will make the whole idea of private health insurance obsolete.”
Read the story online: Congress Passes Bill to Bar Bias Based on Genes, New York Times, May 2, 2008.
For more background information, Professor Pollitz’s 2007 paper, Genetic Discrimination in Health Insurance: Current Legal Protections and Industry Practices, from the journal Inquiry, is helpful. You can order back copies from Inquiry via the link above.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
What about discrimination against MEN??? Why do men pay more. I could easily outlive my wife…….many men do. If it is longevity numbers, why not by race then? Some races have much shorter longevity.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
One of the articles via link mentions the law would take effect after a year, and employers could wait 18 months before having to adopt it. Why the delay?? This is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. I’m sure there are others out there beside myself, who have to double up on premiums just to be sure they’re entirely covered. I pay COBRA and my new insurance just took effect, but can only be used for new health issues, and not for anything associated with my genetic condition, since it is considered pre-existing, at the moment.
The other problem is, why doesn’t this bill and/or law carry over to long-term care and life insurance?? On the surface, health insurance, life insurance and long term care go hand-in-hand. The bill needs to be re-worded, as well as implemented very quickly.