Guest guest Posted August 12, 2009 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 Health care reform needed to complete GINA's goals http://www.dnapolicy.org/news.enews.article.nocategory.php?action=detail & newslet\ ter_id=44 & article_id=206 While last year's Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) assures patients they cannot be denied a job or health insurance based on their genes, more is needed to protect families from financial devastation caused by disease. " First and foremost, " writes former Center Law and Policy Director nah Baruch in Science Progress, " Congress and the White House simply must succeed in current efforts to overhaul our system of health care and health insurance. " The problem, Baruch explains, is that while GINA prohibits employers and health insurers from using a person's genetic information against them, no such prohibition applies to life, long-term care, or disability insurance. In addition, health insurers have no legal obligation to pay for genetic tests, nor for the preventative measures that tests might indicate. Once a patient develops symptoms of a disease, whether genetic or not, GINA provides no protection at all. Baruch concludes that in order to finish the job of protecting sick people from financial disaster, " Reform efforts must protect not just genetic information itself, but also access both to the actual care that is critical for prevention, early detection, and treatment, and to the support systems that help individuals care for themselves and their families when serious illness strikes. " Baruch, S. 2009. Your Genes Aren't Covered For That. Science Progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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