Senate OKs bill barring genetic discrimination

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill barring employers and insurers from discriminating against people based on their genetics won unanimous passage in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, moving one step from final congressional approval.

The Senate voted 95 to 0 to pass the bipartisan bill. It is supported by the White House and health insurers but opposed by business interests including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Scientists are learning increasing amounts about the genetic basis of illnesses ranging from cancer to diabetes to heart disease, and tests are being developed to assess a person's predisposition to them.

Bill supporters sought to make sure these test results are not be used against people by employers or insurers unwilling to accept the burden of paying to treat costly diseases.

"Discrimination based on a person's genetic identity is just as unacceptable as discrimination on the basis of race or religion," said Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, calling it the century's first major new civil rights bill.

The measure would prohibit health insurers from rejecting coverage or raising premiums for healthy people based on their genetic predisposition to develop a disease. It also would bar health insurers from requiring a person to take a genetic test that might reveal a predisposition for illness.

It would prohibit employers, unions and employment agencies from using genetic information in employee hiring, firing, compensation or promotion decisions.

The House of Representatives in April 2007 passed a version of the bill, 420 to 3. Because the bill passed by the Senate is a bit different, it now goes back to the House for final congressional passage, with a vote expected early next week. It then would go to President George W. Bush to sign into law.