It’s currently illegal in the United States for employers and health insurance companies to discriminate based on genetic information, thanks to The Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA, which was passed in 2008, which prohibits it. This was a significant step, known by some as the “anti-Gattaca law,” because of the rumor that politicians were moved to support the measure after seeing the 1997 film about a genetically-tiered future society.
Unfortunately, though, and unbeknownst to many, GINA provides absolutely no protection against discrimination in matters of disability and life insurance. This is no accident, but rather a glaring omission that was intentionally crafted in GINA that allows life and disability insurance providers to legally discriminate against people with genetic conditions or risk factors that might predispose them to disease.
Read the full, original story: Hacking Your Genome: How Insurance Companies Legally Discriminate Against You and Your Family
