GINA update

[Guest guest]

GINA update

http://www.dnapolicy.org/news.enews.article.nocategory.php?action=detail & newslet\

ter_id=41 & article_id=196

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released a Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) implementing Title II (regarding employment) of the

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Law and Policy Director

nah Baruch was invited to testify at an EEOC hearing announcing the

proposed rule.

The Center, in collaboration with Gruber at the Council for Responsible

Genetics, has developed model comments in response to this proposed regulation.

Our draft comments are available for other organizations' and individuals' use;

comments are due to EEOC by May 1, 2009.

We are pleased with the approach taken by EEOC in most areas of the NPRM.

However, we believe that a few aspects of the NPRM require additional attention,

as detailed in our comments:

• strong definitions of key terms,

• narrowly-crafted exceptions to the rule against employer acquisition of

genetic information, and,

• clarification by all federal agencies regulating under GINA of the interaction

of Title I and Title II of GINA to ensure that both Titles are implemented and

enforced with consistency and clarity.

The final Title II regulations will go into effect November 21, 2009. As GINA

implementation progresses, we look forward to the opportunity to continue to

work with EEOC to ensure that employers are made aware of GINA's new

requirements and have the tools they need to comply with the law.

The Center is now awaiting release of GINA regulations regarding health

insurance from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and

Treasury. GINA requires that these regulations be issued by May 21, 2009.

In other news, the Office for Human Research Protections at the Department of

Health and Human Services released a guidance document for researchers and

Institutional Review Boards to provide information about the background and

implications of GINA, particularly with respect to how GINA's protections should

be described in informed consent forms. – nah Baruch

[Guest guest]

This is exactly the problem.  Excellent, concise summary of the issues.

 

Only people who have continuous health insurance are protected and protection

doesn't extend to life, disability, and long term care.  Also, insurance

companies aren't always covering the genetic tests when they should.

 

If you want to write to your congressional representative, you could just cut

and paste this snipet below into an email and ask congress to address these

issues in their healthcare reform legislation.

 

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?Name=Cochran & \

nState=MS