Can New Law Finally Make Genetic Screening Useful?
Scientific advances have paved the way for medical technology developments that, at times, seem so unreal that they could have been taken from old science fiction movies. Genetic fingerprinting can now be used to screen for the susceptibility to potentially life threatening or crippling illnesses and diseases.This medical technology could be used to save many lives because medical intervention can take place earlier than ever before rather than waiting to discover an illness or disease after it has already had the opportunity to silently attack and spread.
Everyone would think that genetic screening is a wonderful thing. After all, what could possibly be better than having a complete and specific view of an individual's health and health risks?
Perhaps health insurance companies thought that this information would be great to have as well.Because genetic screening can show which people are predisposed to which illnesses and diseases, it would be a wonderful financial tool for health insurers.With all of the available information, it would now be possible for insurance companies to reduce their risks more than ever before by not insuring people who have the greatest risk for the most devastating illnesses or by charging them exorbitant premiums for health insurance because of the specific health risks revealed by genetic testing.Genetic screening could potentially be a wonderful thing for the bottom line of health insurance companies if they had their way.
Luckily, lawmakers in Washington are well aware of how insurance companies operate and the Senate has passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act with a 95-0 vote.The bill now goes to the House and then to President Bush, who supports the bill according to the Chicago Tribune.
The bill prevents health insurance companies from discriminating against policy holders based on genetic information.Insurance companies will not be able to use information revealed in genetic screening to their advantage by limiting or denying coverage or charging higher premiums.Employers will also be prohibited from using genetic information when making decisions regarding hiring, firing or promotions.
By passing this bill into law, Washington will finally be allowing Americans to utilize genetic screening to their full advantage and take control of their health with preemptive strikes against devastating illnesses and diseases before it is too late for lifesaving therapy.Many types of cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, diabetes and many other diseases may have hereditary links.Without the nondiscrimination law, many people will forgo genetic screening to find out if they are likely to develop these diseases and will not receive preventative or therapeutic healthcare because in doing so they risk losing their jobs or health coverage.
Supporters of the bill say that it is a civil rights issue that can no longer be ignored and most people agree that genetic screening has the potential to save tremendous amounts of money in health care costs.It is undisputable that the advances in genetic screening technology are worthless if no one can or will use genetic testing, and that's where this bill offers the most assistance.