Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Thursday, April 24, 2008 Will your DNA keep you from a job? Employers, insurers wouldn't be able to exclude people based on genetic tests. Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers have agreed to make it illegal for employers and insurance companies to deny applicants jobs and health care coverage because DNA tests show they are genetically disposed to a disease. Supporters of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act said Wednesday that the Senate planned to vote on it today. The House also is likely to give quick approval to the bill, sending it to President Bush for his signature. A similar bill passed the House by a 420-3 vote a year ago. The White House, at the time, indicated its support for the legislation. Sponsors reached an agreement Tuesday with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who had been blocking Senate action on the bill. The compromise tightens language to ensure there is a "firewall" between the part dealing with health plans and the section regarding employment so as to discourage inappropriate claims. It also makes clear that, while individuals are protected from discrimination based on genetic predisposition, insurance companies still have the right to base coverage and pricing on the actual presence of a disease. Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y., have been pushing the issue for years, asserting that dramatic advances in genetic research make it crucial that people are protected from discrimination. Snowe noted that nearly 32 percent of women offered a genetic test for breast cancer risk by the National Institutes of Health declined because of concerns about health insurance discrimination. "Like discrimination based on race and gender, genetic discrimination is based on the unchangeable and -- because the information must be sought out by the offender -- is equally offensive," she said. Kennedy said the bill will "unlock the extraordinary potential of this new era of the life sciences." The legislation forbids sponsors of health coverage from requesting or using genetic information to adjust premiums or to determine eligibility. It would prohibits employers from using genetic information in hiring, firing, assignment or promotion decisions.

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