On February 9, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved, by voice vote, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (S. 306). The Senate approved the legislation in October 2003, but the House did not act on the bill before the end of the 108th Congress (see The Source, 10/17/03).
Sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the measure would prohibit insurance companies and employers from using the results of genetic tests to deny coverage, raise insurance premiums, or to make hiring decisions. S. 306 also would bar insurance companies and employers from requesting genetic tests and would apply the same procedures and remedies as other forms of discrimination, such as race under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Workers could sue employers who violated the rules.
In a press release announcing her introduction of the bill, Sen. Snowe told the story of a constituent who was a breast cancer survivor and also had nine family members with breast cancer. The woman feared that if her daughter had the BRCA test to determine a genetic predisposition for breast cancer, she could be denied health insurance or future employment.
