[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 293 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 293

  To amend the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit health issuers and group health 
 plans from discriminating against individuals on the basis of genetic 
                              information.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

 Mr. Sweeney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education 
and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit health issuers and group health 
 plans from discriminating against individuals on the basis of genetic 
                              information.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Genetic Information Health Insurance 
Nondiscrimination Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF HEALTH INSURANCE DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF 
              GENETIC INFORMATION.

    (a) Group Coverage.--
            (1) Amendments to public health service act.--
                    (A) Inclusion of genetic testing.--Section 
                2702(a)(1)(F) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
                U.S.C. 300gg-1(a)(1)(F)) is amended by inserting ``(or 
                a request for, or receipt of, genetic information or a 
                genetic test)'' after ``genetic information''.
                    (B) Limitation on collection and disclosure of 
                genetic information.--Subpart 2 of part A of title 
                XXVII of the Public Health Service Act is amended by 
                adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 2707. LIMITATION ON COLLECTION AND DISCLOSURE OF GENETIC 
              INFORMATION.

    ``(a) Limitation on Collection.--A health insurance issuer may not 
request or require an individual to whom the issuer provides health 
insurance coverage in  connection with a group health plan (or an 
individual who desires the issuer to provide health insurance coverage 
in connection with a group health plan), and a group health plan may 
not request or require a participant or beneficiary under the plan (or 
an individual who desires to become such a participant or beneficiary), 
to disclose any genetic information or to obtain any genetic test.
    ``(b) Restriction on Disclosure.--Subject to subsection (c), a 
health insurance issuer in connection with health insurance coverage 
offered in connection with a group health plan and a group health plan 
may not disclose genetic information about an individual (regardless of 
how the information was obtained) without a prior written authorization 
of the individual (or legal representative of the individual) that 
includes--
            ``(1) a description of the information being disclosed,
            ``(2) the name of the individual or person to whom the 
        disclosure is being made, and
            ``(3) the purpose of the disclosure.
Such authorization is required for each disclosure.
    ``(c) Exceptions to Disclosure Restriction.--Genetic information 
concerning an individual may be disclosed by a health insurance issuer 
or group health plan if such disclosure--
            ``(1) is authorized under criminal laws relating to the 
        identification of individuals, or is authorized under Federal 
        or State law and is necessary for the purpose of a criminal or 
        death investigation, a criminal or juvenile proceeding, an 
        inquest, or a child fatality review by a multidisciplinary 
        child abuse team;
            ``(2) is required under the specific order of a court;
            ``(3) is authorized under law for the purpose of 
        establishing paternity;
            ``(4) is for the purpose of furnishing genetic information 
        relating to a decedent to the blood relatives of the decedent 
        for the purpose of medical diagnosis; or
            ``(5) is for the purpose of identifying a body.
    ``(d) Notice.--A group health plan under this part shall comply 
with the notice requirement under section 714(d) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with respect to the requirements 
of this section as if such section applied to such plan.''.
                    (C) Definitions.--Section 2791(d) of the Public 
                Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91(d)) is amended 
                by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(15) Genetic information; genetic test.--(A) The term 
        `genetic information' means the information about genes, gene 
        products, or inherited characteristics that may derive from an 
        individual or a blood-relative of the individual.
            ``(B) The term `genetic test' means a test for determining 
        the presence or absence of genetic characteristics in an 
        individual.''.
            (D) Conforming amendment.--Section 2723(c) of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 300gg-23(c)) is amended by striking ``section 2704'' and 
        inserting ``sections 2704 and 2707''.
            (2) ERISA amendments.--
                    (A) Inclusion of genetic testing.--Section 
                702(a)(1)(F) of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
                Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)(F)) is amended by 
                inserting ``(or a request for, or receipt of, genetic 
                information or a genetic test)'' after ``genetic 
                information''.
                    (B) Limitation on collection and dislosure of 
                genetic information.--Subpart B of part 7 of subtitle B 
                of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
                Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the 
                following new section:

``SEC. 714. LIMITATION ON COLLECTION AND DISCLOSURE OF GENETIC 
              INFORMATION.

    ``(a) Limitation on Collection.--A health insurance issuer may not 
request or require an individual to whom the issuer provides health 
insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan (or an 
individual who desires the issuer to provide health insurance coverage 
in connection with a group health plan), and a group health plan may 
not request or require a participant or beneficiary under the plan (or 
an individual who desires to become such a participant or beneficiary), 
to disclose any genetic information or to obtain any genetic test.
    ``(b) Restriction on Disclosure.--Subject to subsection (c), a 
health insurance issuer in connection with health insurance coverage 
offered in connection with a group health plan and a group health plan 
may not disclose genetic information about an individual (regardless of 
how the information was obtained) without a prior written authorization 
of the individual (or legal representative of the individual) that 
includes--
            ``(1) a description of the information being disclosed,
            ``(2) the name of the individual or person to whom the 
        disclosure is being made, and
            ``(3) the purpose of the disclosure.
Such authorization is required for each disclosure.
    ``(c) Exceptions to Disclosure Restriction.--Genetic information 
concerning an individual may be disclosed by a health insurance issuer 
or group health plan if such disclosure--
            ``(1) is authorized under criminal laws relating to the 
        identification of individuals, or is authorized under Federal 
        or State law and is necessary for the purpose of a criminal or 
        death investigation, a criminal or juvenile proceeding, an 
        inquest, or a child fatality review by a multidisciplinary 
        child abuse team;
            ``(2) is required under the specific order of a court;
            ``(3) is authorized under law for the purpose of 
        establishing paternity;
            ``(4) is for the purpose of furnishing genetic information 
        relating to a decedent to the blood relatives of the decedent 
        for the purpose of medical diagnosis; or
            ``(5) is for the purpose of identifying a body.
    ``(d) Notice Under Group Health Plan.--The imposition of the 
requirements of this section shall be treated as a material 
modification in the terms of the plan described in section 102(a)(1), 
for purposes of assuring notice of such requirements under the plan; 
except that the summary description required to be provided under the 
last sentence of section 104(b)(1) with respect to such modification 
shall be provided by not later than 60 days after the first day of the 
first plan year in which such requirements apply.''.
                    (C) Definitions.--Section 733(d) of the Employee 
                Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
                1186(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(5) Genetic information; genetic test.--(A) The term 
        `genetic information' means the information about genes, gene 
        products, or inherited characteristics that may derive from an 
        individual or a blood-relative of the individual.
            ``(B) The term `genetic test' means a test for determining 
        the presence or absence of genetic characteristics in an 
        individual.''.
            ``(2) Construction.--Section 731(a)(1) shall not be 
        construed as superseding a State law described in paragraph 
        (1).''.
                    (D) Conforming amendments.--(i) Section 731(c) of 
                such Act (29 U.S.C. 1191(c)) is amended by striking 
                ``section 711'' and inserting ``sections 711 and 714''.
            (ii) Section 732(a) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1191a(a)), as 
        amended by section 603(b)(2) of Public Law 104-204, is amended 
        by striking ``section 711'' and inserting ``sections 711 and 
        714''.
            (iii) The table of contents in section 1 of such Act is 
        amended by inserting after the item relating to section 713 the 
        following new item:

``Sec. 714. Limitation on collection and disclosure of genetic 
                            information.''.
            (3) Internal revenue code amendments.--
                    (A) Genetic information.--Section 9802(a)(1)(F) of 
                the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
                inserting ``(or a request for, or receipt of, genetic 
                information or a genetic test)'' after ``genetic 
                information''.
                    (B) Definitions.--Section 9805(d) of such Act is 
                amended by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(6) Genetic information; genetic test.--(A) The term 
        `genetic information' means the information about genes, gene 
        products, or inherited characteristics that may derive from an 
        individual or a blood-relative of the individual.
            ``(B) The term `genetic test' means a test for determining 
        the presence or absence of genetic characteristics in an 
        individual.''.
    (b) Individual Health Insurance.--Part B of title XXVII of the 
Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 2752 
the following new section:

``SEC. 2753. LIMITATION ON COLLECTION AND DISCLOSURE OF GENETIC 
              INFORMATION.

    ``(a) In General.--The provisions of section 2707 (other than 
subsection (d)) shall apply to health insurance coverage offered by a 
health insurance issuer in the individual market in the same manner as 
it applies to health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance 
issuer in connection with a group health plan in the small or large 
group market.
    ``(b) Notice.--A health insurance issuer under this part shall 
comply with the notice requirement under section 714(d) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with respect to the requirements 
referred to in subsection (a) as if such section applied to such issuer 
and such issuer were a group health plan.''.
    (c) Effective Dates.--(1) The amendments made by subsection (a) 
shall apply with respect to group health plans for plan years beginning 
on or after January 1, 2000.
    (2) The amendment made by subsection (b) shall apply with respect 
to health insurance coverage offered, sold, issued, renewed, in effect, 
or operated in the individual market on or after such date.
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