News
A Senate panel approved legislation last week aimed at preventing discrimination based on a person’s genetic profile.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the bill (S 358), 19-2, on Jan. 31. It would forbid insurers and employers from requiring people to submit to genetic testing, or from using genetic information to deny people insurance coverage, raise insurance premiums, or hire and fire workers.
The full Senate is expected to pass the bill.
Republicans Richard M. Burr of North Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma voted against the bill. Coburn said the measure could have unintended consequences for doctors, hospitals, police and others.
The committee adopted an amendment by Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., by voice vote that re-wrote the bill with technical changes and corrections.
Senators passed similar bills twice before, in 2005 and 2003, with no votes against either. But they were never considered in the Republican-controlled House, where opposition from business groups helped block them.
Maine Republican Olympia J. Snowe, the bill’s sponsor, said it would help reassure people who are concerned that data from genetic tests for hereditary diseases could be used against them. Snowe has said she was inspired by research showing that many women decline tests to possibly reveal a gene alteration that has been linked to breast cancer, fearing a positive test will lead to cancellation of health insurance.
While Snowe and her allies, including Kennedy, say the legislation is a common-sense defense for workers, business lobbyists led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce see pitfalls. The Chamber says it’s too broad because it seeks to punish employers not only for discrimination using genetic information, but also for collecting the data in the first place.
Most states outlaw genetic discrimination, according to the Chamber, and businesses fear a new federal law would simply mean another layer of regulation to contend with, as well as new opportunities for lawsuits. The Snowe-Kennedy bill would not pre-empt state laws.
With Democrats in charge of the House, the bill is expected to pass in that chamber, too. President Bush has said he supports it.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the bill (S 358), 19-2, on Jan. 31. It would forbid insurers and employers from requiring people to submit to genetic testing, or from using genetic information to deny people insurance coverage, raise insurance premiums, or hire and fire workers.
The full Senate is expected to pass the bill.
Republicans Richard M. Burr of North Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma voted against the bill. Coburn said the measure could have unintended consequences for doctors, hospitals, police and others.
The committee adopted an amendment by Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., by voice vote that re-wrote the bill with technical changes and corrections.
Senators passed similar bills twice before, in 2005 and 2003, with no votes against either. But they were never considered in the Republican-controlled House, where opposition from business groups helped block them.
Maine Republican Olympia J. Snowe, the bill’s sponsor, said it would help reassure people who are concerned that data from genetic tests for hereditary diseases could be used against them. Snowe has said she was inspired by research showing that many women decline tests to possibly reveal a gene alteration that has been linked to breast cancer, fearing a positive test will lead to cancellation of health insurance.
While Snowe and her allies, including Kennedy, say the legislation is a common-sense defense for workers, business lobbyists led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce see pitfalls. The Chamber says it’s too broad because it seeks to punish employers not only for discrimination using genetic information, but also for collecting the data in the first place.
Most states outlaw genetic discrimination, according to the Chamber, and businesses fear a new federal law would simply mean another layer of regulation to contend with, as well as new opportunities for lawsuits. The Snowe-Kennedy bill would not pre-empt state laws.
With Democrats in charge of the House, the bill is expected to pass in that chamber, too. President Bush has said he supports it.
