Act Benefiting Diagnostics Makers Stalls in Senate

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has placed a hold on a Senate bill that would stop discrimination based on genetic information derived from diagnostic tests.

The Senate was previously expected to vote on its version of S. 358, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, July 24. The House version of the bill, H.R. 493, passed in April by a vote of 420-3.

However, the hold on the bill remained as of press time, and Coburn’s office had not returned requests for comment.

The act has garnered support from the diagnostic industry, as it is intended to protect individuals against discrimination in health insurance and employment based on genetic information.

S. 358 can be viewed at thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.00358: and H.R. 493 can be viewed at thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00493:.