Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)1 was signed into law on May 21, 2008, after a 13-year struggle in Congress. GINA prohibits genetic discrimination in employment and health insurance, thereby supplementing existing federal protections against genetic discrimination in employer-sponsored group health plans contained in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and state laws prohibiting genetic discrimination in employment and individual health insurance(GINA, 2008).

Over the past two decades, advances in molecular biology techniques and the establishment of the Human Genome Project have led to the identification and sequencing of hundreds of genes. With the known sequence of a particular gene, it is relatively simple to identify specific changes in that sequence that can predispose an individual to common genetic diseases or indicate the presence of a disease. Genetic testing is a powerful technology in both diagnosing and predicting the likelihood that an individual either has or will develop a genetic disease. The most important change is brought about by the growth of the World Wide Web, the unstoppable expansion of the Internet and the rapid development of e-commerce. Use of the World Wide Web doubles every 12 months (Kirby, 2000).

The application of computers and information technology in biological science has been necessary because biological information is expanding at an exponential rate, and there are many applications where the utilization of computer technology could lead to breakthroughs (Hongladarom, 2009).

Genetic testing and screening are likely to become an important part of longitudinal clinical records (Gostin, 1995). The principal forms include: fetal (prenatal), newborn, carrier, and clinical (primary care) screening.

As the popularity of genetic testing continues to grow, distinct trends in health care have emerged. Specifically, health care providers and industry researchers alike have begun to shift their focus away from developing treatments and therapies that accommodate large numbers of people toward the needs of the individual. (Hudson, 2008)

On May 21, 2008 the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 was signed into law by President George W. Bush. GINA's passage through the 110 th Congress was almost unanimous—the Senate approved the bill by a 95-0 vote and the House followed with a 414-1 vote(GINA, 2008). With such overwhelming support, it may surprise some to know that GINA fought a long battle through Congress of approximately thirteen years before finally being passed.

It is no secret that America's current health insurance system utilizes the practice of “underwriting,” in which the insurer evaluates the potential risks and exposures of applicants and customers. The purpose of this system is to enable the insurer to employ “reasonable discrimination” and base premium rates on an individual's predicted costs to the company. While this process seems logical, issues obviously arise when it comes to genetic information, with the issue being whether a health insurer should be allowed to use genetic information as one of the factors it uses to determine an individual's statistical risk. For advocates of GINA the answer to ...