Talk about the wave of the future.

A bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 95-0.  The law called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (HR 493), provides protection for people who discover they have high genetic susceptibility for diseases.

WaPo reports that President Bush supports the legislation, so the bill is expected to become a law.

The bill is a preemptive move in order to protect individuals from the potential downside of genetic testing. The law would punish health care providers and employers who discriminate against those who have submitted to genetic testing and find they are at risk for Huntington’s Disease, cystic fibrosis and any other genetic disease.

Insurance companies cannot discriminate but they also retain certain rights:

«[The bill] 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.»

That caveat was put in after some senators complained the insurance companies wouldn’t be protected from frivolous lawsuits. It delayed the process some, but guaranteed the bill’s passage.

I think this is great news for the future of our health care. I’m really quite pleased the legislature was actually able to do something and that President Bush is open to protecting Americans from this future problem. This is a great strategy. I wish we applied it to more areas of American life.

All this reminds me of Gattaca, the movie starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law.  In the movie, genetic testing and selective reproduction is practiced to the point where people with genetic imperfections are marginalized and discriminated against.  The movie was very futuristic when it was released in the 1990s, but now it doesn’t seem so far off.

It’s admirable our government is embracing the new challenges of our future.  I’m interested in seeing how this law will affect future supreme court cases which usually come before laws like these are in the books.