Some Employers Complain Law Barring Genetic Bias Hurts Wellness Efforts
Some employers seeking to clamp down on health insurance costs are concerned that a new law barring genetic discrimination will hinder their efforts.
They say the law, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, restricts their programs that rely on worker surveys about family history to direct at-risk employees to doctors for treatment, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The law generally bars employers from using genetic information—including family history—for coverage and employment decisions, such as hiring, firing and promotion.
Some employers say the law has created a roadblock to their efforts to hand out gift cards, discount health premiums or pay cash incentives to employees who fill out health surveys with questions about family history, the story says.
Navistar International Corp. claims its health care dropped by 7 percent last year partly because of employee participation in wellness programs. But after the law took effect last year, Navistar removed family history questions from its employee questionnaire, the story says. As result, the company won’t be able to direct employees to programs for ailments such as diabetes and heart disease based on their family history.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is drafting rules implementing the law. EEOC lawyer Peggy Mastroianni told the Wall Street Journal the agency is aware of employers’ concerns. “Everybody’s thinking really hard about it,” she told the newspaper.
