WASHINGTON–Insurer-backed legislation was signed into law byPresident George W. Bush yesterday that bars employers and healthinsurance plans from discriminating against individuals based onthe results of genetic testing.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, HR 493, waspassed overwhelmingly by both the House and the Senate.

“It protects our citizens from having genetic informationmisused, and this bill does so without undermining the basicpremise of the insurance industry,” the president said at a signingceremony.

President Bush also offered praise for one of the champions ofthe legislation, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The senator, recentlydiagnosed with a brain tumor, has pushed the measure for adecade.

The bill had encountered a roadblock in the Senate when Sen.Thomas Coburn, R-Okla., blocked debate on the Senate floor becauseof concerns that it could expose employers to litigation overmedical coverage disputes.

Supporters eased those concerns, and cleared the road forpassage, by adding a “firewall” between the portions of the billrelating to employers and the portions relating to governinginsurers.

The legislation has enjoyed support from insurance industrygroups, and they hailed the signing of the bill into law.

“With this landmark bipartisan legislation, Congress and thepresident have taken strong action to prohibit discrimination basedon a person's genetic makeup and to protect patients' privacy asthey pursue genetic evaluations,” said Karen Ignagni, president ofAmerica's Health Insurance Plans.

“This legislation also ensures that patients can continue tobenefit from health plans' innovative early detection and carecoordination programs that improve the safety and quality of care,”she added.

Janet Trautwein, vice president and chief executive officer forthe National Association of Health Underwriters, said the new law“will allow all Americans to make decisions about their geneticinformation based on their personal health needs and desires, andnot the fear that gaining knowledge about their genetic makeup willbe used against them.”

Ms. Trautwein also noted that the act is “an important step inadvancing scientific knowledge” and said NAHU would work with theDepartment of Health and Human Services to implement the newlaw.