Washington Bureau -- NU Online News Service

Health insurers are hoping to change a genetic testingdiscrimination bill as it works its way through the House andSenate.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committeealready has approved the Senate's version of the bill, S. 358, anda similar bill is awaiting action by 2 committees in the House.

"This bill prohibits genetic discrimination in health insuranceand the workplace by barring health insurers and employers fromrequesting or using genetic information to take any action thatwould affect an employee's health or employment benefits," saysSen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the most senior Republican on the SenateHELP Committee.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, sponsored a similar bill in thelast Congress.

Supporters of a genetic testing discrimination ban say a banwould encourage more people to get tests that could help them avoidor cope with disease.

But representatives for health insurers say a poorly wordedgenetic testing ban could hurt the quality of care.

America's Health Insurance Plans, Washington, "agrees with theintent of the current congressional actions, just as we agreed withthe intent of the Senate bill last year," AHIP spokesman MohitGhose says.

But AHIP will "focus our efforts on Capitol Hill to ensure thatthere are no unintended consequences in the language," that couldhurt the quality of care or interfere with efforts to coordinatetreatments, Ghose says.

AHIP also wants to make certain that consumers know geneticinformation would not be used by health insurers to discriminate ordeny coverage, "but would only be used in appropriate ways toimprove the quality of health care," Ghose says.