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Interim GINA rules issued to protect genetic information from being used to discriminate in health care insurance coverage
US Department of Health & Human Services
Individuals’ genetic information will have greater protections through new regulations issued Thursday by the US Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury.
These are interim rules, not final ones. Interim rules are open to comment (usually for 60 to 90 days) and there is no certainty when the final rules will be published.
After the final rules are published in the Federal Register, it will probably be another 60 days before the rules have the force of law.
The interim final rule will help ensure that genetic information is not used to determine health care coverage. This will encourage more people to participate in genetic testing, which can help better identify and prevent certain illnesses, said HHS.
“Echoing the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, our efforts to protect Americans undergoing genetic testing from having the results of that testing used against them by their insurance companies is one of the ‘first major new civil rights’ of the new century,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
“Consumer confidence in genetic testing can now grow and help researchers get a better handle on the genetic basis of diseases. Genetic testing will encourage the early diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases while allowing scientists to develop new medicines, treatments, and therapies.”
