Experts see boost to genetic testing from U.S. bill

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans may be much more willing to get genetic tests showing predisposition to diseases with this week's expected final passage by Congress of a bill barring discrimination based on one's genetics, experts say.

Genetic testing, typically involving a sample of blood, saliva or tissue, can help indicate whether a person has inherited a tendency to develop certain diseases -- for example breast, ovarian or colon cancer or Huntington's disease.

"Many people have been getting a genetic test using an assumed name because they were afraid that the information would otherwise haunt them," Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health, said in a telephone interview.

"And they've sometimes asked their physicians to lie about whether the test was positive in order to protect them."

The bipartisan bill would bar health insurers from turning down coverage or raising premiums for healthy people based on their genetic predisposition to develop a disease.

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

"When this bill passes, we'll have protections to be able to tell people you don't need to worry about insurance or employment discrimination," Kathy Hudson, director of the Washington-based Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University, said in a telephone interview.

The bill, supported by the White House, is expected to go before the House of Representatives this week for final approval before heading to President George W. Bush to sign into law. The Senate passed it on Thursday.