Word: used
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...increased use of genetic testing and information, while bringing incredible new therapeutic and diagnostic tools, also raises significant social and ethical concerns. Who will have access to genetic information and in what applications will it be used? Should health insurers use genetic information to issue policies? What about employers? In absence of any salient federal legislation on the issue, some 34 state legislatures nationwide have carefully debated these issues and implemented genetic information laws of varying strength. Still, residents of the remaining states--including Massachusetts--remain unprotected from misuse of genetic information...
...reason Massachusetts has been so slow to address 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...
...employment, the story is no different. No laws explicitly protect state residents from the use of genetic information in employment decisions...
...use of genetic information so questionable and 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...