Clinton-Genes
APf 14.07.97 23:42
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By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton offered legislation Monday
to bar health insurance companies from discriminating against
apparently healthy people on the basis of their genetic
backgrounds.
Clinton said genetic testing is a miracle of science, one that
poses the possibility of predicting and curing diseases such as
breast cancer.
But he said millions of families fear that the results of genetic
testing will cause them to lose the health insurance they need to
battle disease and illness.
"Americans should never have to choose between saving their
health insurance and taking a test that could save their
life," Clinton said during a ceremony in the East Room of
the White House.
Such discrimination "is a life-threatening abuse of a
potentially live-saving discovery," he said.
"It's wrong when someone avoids taking a test that could
save a life just because they're so afraid the genetic
information will be used against them, and too many women today
fear that that will happen when they decide to test or not to
test to see if they carry the gene for breast cancer,"
Clinton said.
Clinton's decision to push for heightened protection followed the
recommendations of a task force report from Donna Shalala,
secretary of Health and Human Services.
Shalala said the era of genetic testing has brought "great
promise and ethical dilemmas." More than 20 percent of
people in families with genetic disorders report that they or a
family member have been denied health insurance, she said.
"We must enact bipartisan legislation to prevent genetic
discrimination and we must do it now," she said.
The HHS report cautioned that the potential benefits of genetic
testing may never be realized if people refuse to take the tests
out of fear the information may be used against them when they
apply for health insurance.
Expanding genetic research is giving doctors and scientists
increasing ability to predict who will develop various inherited
diseases.
The legislation to bar use of such information to deny health
insurance is sponsored in the House by Rep. Louise Slaughter,
D-N.Y., and has more than 135 co-sponsors.
An identical Senate bill, by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is
backed by Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a heart surgeon.
"We all carry genetic mutations that may place us at risk
for future disease -- therefore we are all at risk for
discrimination," Frist said in a statement. "Only with
these measures can we ensure that knowledge about our genetic
heritage will be used to improve our health, and not force us to
hide in fear that this information will cause us harm."
The White House said Clinton's legislation would build on the
Slaughter-Snowe bill by:
--Specifying that genetic information cannot be disclosed to
insurers, employers or others regulated by state insurance laws.
--Giving the secretary of Health and Human Services authority to
define other situations in which it is proper to allow genetic
information to be disclosed. This modification was designed to
ease concerns that the bill would hamper biomedical research
efforts.