Senate Passes Ban on Genetic Discrimination (blocked in House)

[papau]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=7&u=/nm/20050217/sc_nm/congress_genetics_dc

Senate Passes Ban on Genetic Discrimination (GOP/Chamber of Com block it in House)

Thu Feb 17, 5:06 PM ET y Joanne Kenen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously approved legislation to bar health insurers and employers from discriminating against people with a genetic predisposition to disease.

Sponsors said a growing understanding of the human genetic code created a need for protections to make sure scientific breakthroughs were used to promote health, not discrimination. Scientists believe every human has some genetic flaws.

The bill prevents health insurers from excluding people from coverage or charging them higher rates due to a genetic risk or predisposition to a disease. Insurers could not require customers to take genetic tests.

Employers would be barred from making hiring or firing decisions based on genetic information.

The measure covers public and private health plans, employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and training programs. It also tightens protections on the privacy of medical information. <snip>

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Someone should remind the house this would discriminate against

DICK CHENEY!

[Coastie for Truth]

2. The rest of the story---

Here's the rest of the story-->
<snip><

Lead House sponsor Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat, said that a bipartisan majority of House members have publicly supported the bill, and she hopes to overcome opposition from a small group of Republican leaders and business lobbyists. The Chamber of Commerce, for instance, opposes the Senate bill.

"It has been astonishing to me that the Senate can pass this unanimously and the White House supports it, and a couple of outside groups can block this," Slaughter said.

The White House has endorsed the legislation but some business groups have opposed it, saying it will add regulatory burdens without improving consumer protection."

<snip><

So the Chamber of Commerce (and I guess the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Federation of Independent Businesses) got what they wanted--

1. Class Action "Reform" to protect their ill gotten gains until the plaintiff's bar catches up with them.

2. Bankruptcy "Reform" - even though half of all bankruptcies involved medical expenses.

A return to the "Gilded Age" of McKinley.

As predicted in "What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America" by Thomas Frank and emphasized and re-emphasized by Paul Krugman. Well, the scheeple voted -- and now the scheeple are paying.

[pop goes the weasel]

3. Excellent

Now we need to work on the House to get this protection passed.