Word: health
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...this issue is unclear. Whatever the cause, the legislature must now act decisively to protect the interests of state residents. As it stands, there are some 5.2 million non-elderly state residents who are without any protection from discriminatory use of genetic information in the issue and rating of health insurance. Even though the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) prevents the use of genetic information in issue of group health insurance policies, nothing in HIPAA prevents the company from using such information to increase a group's rate and price people out of coverage; furthermore, HIPAA...
...potentially harmful? Philosophical disputes aside, many genetic tests suggest only an individual's heightened predisposition to a certain disorder but do not make a conclusive statement about a person's condition. In the absence of any regulation, this amounts to the undesirable result that state residents may be denied health insurance and employment on the basis of uncertain personal characteristics...
Several proposals for the governance of genetic information are before the Massachusetts legislature at the committee level. State representatives mustn't drag their feet and should make passing effective legislation a priority. Ideally, such legislation will restrict the use of genetic information in health insurance and employment and closely regulate the retention and disclosure of genetic information. Responsibilities for enforcement will be assigned and testing laboratories and physicians alike will be required to clearly explain individuals' rights upon any test or disclosure of results. Such careful regulation will ensure that genetic information is always used in a responsible manner...
Sachin H. Jain '02 is a resident of Mather House and author of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Initiatives in Health Care Reform report, "Understanding the Code: A Comprehensive Survey of State Genetic Information Laws...
Informed adults should be free to take informed risks--including taking up smoking. Smoking initiation, however, often occurs during adolescence, when awareness of the health harms of tobacco use is limited. Neither is the addictiveness of the habit widely perceived. Furthermore, many studies show that, while youth may be aware of the risk of addiction, they may not personalize the risk...