Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Genetics News

Senate Panel Passes Bill To Ban Genetic Discrimination

Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance;  Public Health
Article Date: 05 Feb 2007 - 13:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday voted 19-2 to approve a bill (S 358) under which employers and health insurers could not discriminate against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests, CongressDaily reports (Lee, CongressDaily, 2/1). Under the legislation, employers could make decisions about whether to hire potential employees or fire or promote employees based on the results of genetic tests. In addition, health insurers could not deny coverage to potential members or charge higher premiums to members based on the results of genetic tests. The House Education and Labor Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Tuesday held a hearing on a similar bill (HR 493) (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/31). The Senate approved similar bills in 2003 and 2005, but the legislation did not pass in the House. According to CongressDaily, the bill likely will pass in Congress this year, and President Bush likely will sign the legislation (CongressDaily, 2/1).

Comments
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who sponsored the Senate bill, said that the legislation would ensure that residents who take genetic tests for hereditary diseases do not have the results used against them (Wayne, CQ Today, 2/1). However, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who voted against the bill, said that the legislation would have "all sorts of unintended consequences" for efforts to process health insurance claims, share information with law enforcement agencies and maintain medical records. He added that the bill would not protect embryos from discrimination based on the results of genetic tests conducted before implantation. Coburn said that he would place a hold on legislation until his concerns are addressed. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) also voted against the bill (CongressDaily, 2/1). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the legislation because "it seeks to not only punish employers for discrimination using genetic information but for collecting the data in the first place," CQ Today reports (CQ Today, 2/1).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Please fill in our survey

Swine Flu Image

Swine Flu Updates

- Latest Swine Flu News
- What is Swine Flu?
- Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
- Swine Flu - Top 20 FAQ
- Daily Email News Alerts
Stick with Medical News Today for the latest news updates on swine flu.


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Same-Sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds
20 Jun 2009
Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research. "It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends...


Keeping Seniors Safe in the Heat
Keeping Seniors Safe in the Heat

Keeping cool this summer means avoiding heat stroke, the most serious heat-related illness, and heat exhaustion, a milder affliction but still a dangerous one. Older people are especially vulnerable to both.

more videos are available in our health videos section.