Cliff Stearns: “last week the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up H.R. 493, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Two other…”

“last week the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up H.R. 493, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Two other committees of jurisdiction have also voted on this same bill. Many people have been remarking that we have been working for over a dozen years on this particular piece of legislation and this subject. I count myself among them because in 1995 I was proud to be named the first chair of the Congressional Task Force on Medical Records and Genetics by then-Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley. Indeed, in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) markup, I was successful in adding two words to a list of protections: 'Genetic information,' which is in the HIPAA law today. I have continued my engagement, authoring bills in the last several Congresses to prohibit genetic nondiscrimination in health insurance. While I agree conceptually with the intent, this particular piece of legislation I have mentioned earlier, gives rise to many concerns.”