Updated: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was signed into law by President Bush on May 21, 2008.
In a victory for openness and personalized medicine, on May 1, Congress sent President Bush a bill forbidding employers and health insurers from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act was passed in the Senate 95-0, and in the House of Representatives 414-1, and President Bush is expected to sign it into law.
Now, Americans can take advantage of genetic testing without fear of being dropped from their health insurance or fired from their job for having a pre-existing condition. In essence, a person’s genes are protected in the same manner as their age, gender, race, and religion (and if you think about it, genes are merely an extension of some of those things!). Before this bill became a reality, many individuals were paying in cash for genetic tests or even denying themselves information that could have prepared them for, prevented, or aided in treatment of a disease.
For more information, see the AP article.