Senate Unanimously OKs Ban on Genetic Discrimination

The Senate unanimously approved legislation Thursday to bar health insurers and employers from discriminating against people with a genetic predisposition to disease.

Sponsors said a growing understanding of the human genetic code created a need for protections to ensure that scientific breakthroughs were used to promote health, not discrimination. Scientists believe every human being has some genetic flaws.

The bill prevents health insurers from excluding people from coverage or charging them higher rates because of a genetic risk or predisposition to a disease. Insurers could not require customers to take genetic tests.

Employers would be barred from basing hiring or firing decisions on genetic information. The measure covers public and private health plans, employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and training programs. It also tightens the protection of medical information privacy.

The Senate passed nearly identical legislation in 2003, but it died in the House .

Lead House sponsor Louise McIntosh Slaughter, a New York Democrat, said that a bipartisan majority of House members has publicly supported the bill, and she hopes to overcome the opposition of some Republican leaders and business lobbyists.

“It has been astonishing to me that the Senate can pass this unanimously and the White House supports it, and a couple of outside groups can block this,” Slaughter said.

The White House has endorsed the legislation but some business groups have opposed it, saying it will add regulatory burdens without improving consumer protection.

But supporters, including Senate Health Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, a conservative Wyoming Republican, said national rules, rather than a hodgepodge of state regulations, are in everyone’s interest.

“Establishing these protections will allay concerns about the potential for discrimination, and it will encourage individuals to participate in genetic research and to take advantage of genetic testing, new technologies and new therapies,” Enzi said.

Medical experts say that many people who could benefit from certain genetic screening tests do not take them for fear of losing health coverage for themselves or their families.

“People fear cancer, but many also fear losing their jobs or their health insurance even more,” said Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the senior Democrat on the health panel.