House passes ban on genetic discrimination

The bill would keep employers and health plans from using patients' genetic information for hiring and insurance eligibility decisions -- if the Senate passes it.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. May 14, 2007.

Washington -- A measure outlawing the misuse of genetic information by health insurers and employers passed the House late last month, 12 years after the first bill of its type was introduced.

The House approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 in a 420-3 vote on April 25. It would prohibit health insurers from using genetic information to determine health plan eligibility or to set premiums. It also would bar employers from using the same information in hiring, firing, job placement or promotion decisions.

President Bush issued a Statement of Administration Policy in support of the bill April 25. The House bill has 224 co-sponsors, including 95 Republicans. The Senate version has 32 co-sponsors, including nine Republicans. In recent years similar bills twice have passed the Senate without an opposing vote.

The House measure -- reintroduced in January after a year of negotiations between stakeholders -- moved through that chamber quickly under Democratic leadership. Republican leaders opposed genetic nondiscrimination bills for years despite steady bipartisan support.

The American Medical Association voiced support for the House legislation when it was introduced.

The measure's future in the Senate was unclear at press time. Sen. Tom Coburn, MD (R, Okla.), placed a hold on the Senate bill -- meaning it needs 60 votes to pass -- because he was concerned that it lacked language preventing insurers from using prenatal genetic testing results to limit coverage of fetuses and pregnant women, said his spokesman Aaron Cooper. Language addressing this issue was added to the House bill as it passed through three committees this spring. Legislation supporters were considering sending the House version to the Senate for adoption, but no decisions had been reached by press time.