Snowe Persists for Passage of Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill
By Liz Goldberg
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 – For the fifth time in 10 years, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has introduced a bill to prevent insurance companies and businesses from discriminating against people who have a genetic disposition toward diseases such as cancer, Huntington’s disease or glaucoma.
The Senate approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, 95-0, in October 2003 but it did not make it through the House in the face of opposition from business and insurance groups.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the latest version on Wednesday. It is expected to go to the floor of the Senate for a vote sometime next week, according to Antonia Ferrier, Snowe’s press secretary.
“I think the overall hope is that by coming so quickly out of the gate . that we can expeditiously get it through the floor of the Senate . and put pressure on our colleagues in the House,” Ferrier said.
No federal law against genetic discrimination exists, Ferrier said, but it is becoming increasingly important to have such a law, she added , because modern technology can provide a lot of medical information that could be used for discrimination.
Snowe first introduced the bill in 1996 and was bolstered in her efforts to get it passed by a letter from concerned constituent Bonnie Lee Tucker. Tucker feared her daughter, Laura, would be discriminated against by insurance companies and employers if she got genetic testing for breast cancer. Nine women in Tucker’s family have had breast cancer, putting Laura at high risk for the disease.
“That kind of constituent story really proves why we have to have this legislation passed,” Ferrier said.
Currently, insurance companies can use the results from genetic testing to limit a person’s coverage, raise premiums or deny coverage, according to a 2003 press release from Snowe. The bill would strengthen patients’ safeguards against discrimination by insurance companies and employers, who could use the genetic information in making decisions about hiring and firing.
“Insurers should not be allowed to deny coverage, cancel coverage or adjust premium rates, and employers should not be able to use genetic information as a means of determining employment decisions,” Snowe said in a statement.
Snowe previously had noted that more people need to use genetic testing to provide data for medical research and need assurance that they will not be discriminated against based on the results.
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