Employee Genetic Tests: Republican Bill Would Give Employers Access To Your Info

A new bill proposed by Republican legislators would allow companies to require their employees to submit to genetic testing and would give employers the ability to demand access to genetic and other health information.

The bill— HR 1313, or the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act—successfully passed through the House Committee on Education and the Workforce this week on party lines, with all 22 Republicans supporting the measure and all 17 Democrats opposed. The bill is expected to be included in a larger measure related to the Affordable Care Act that would require approval outside of the Republican’s current repeal and replace plan.

Read: Obamacare Repeal By Republicans Could Cost 10M People Their Coverage

Currently, allowing employers to access the genetic testing of their employees is prohibited by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Passed in 2008, GINA made it against the law for employers to use genetic information to make employment decisions or to limit or classify employees in any way.

To circumvent this protection, the Republican-sponsored bill states that GINA and other protections designed to keep genetic and health information private don’t apply when the genetic tests are part of a “workplace wellness” program.

During a congressional hearing held last week, employer groups testified that the protections put in place for employees has an adverse effect on the wellness programs run by employers.

The American Benefits Council, a trade association that represents Fortune 500 companies and other large employers, testified that GINA “put at risk the availability and effectiveness of workplace wellness programs,” which in turn limited the employer’s ability to improve health and productivity.

Read: Do Wellness Programs Work? As Companies Buy In, Return On Investment Is Coming Under Scrutiny

Workplace wellness programs—which often include programs like cholesterol screenings, health questionnaires, weight loss classes, etc.—are technically voluntary, though businesses have found ways to make participation essentially mandatory.

Employers can charge workers as much as 50 percent more for health insurance if they decline to partake in voluntary programs. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined last year that programs are still considered voluntary even when they lead to financial penalties in the form of higher healthcare premiums for those who don’t participate.

Those same penalties for opting out of an employer’s wellness program would apply to genetic tests under the new bill, allowing employers to as for “voluntary” genetic tests that carry financial penalties for not participating.

The genetic information received by the companies would not include workers’ names but could still provide identifiable information, especially in smaller companies.

Derek Scholes, the director of science policy at the American Society of Human Genetics, said the bill “would force Americans to choose between access to affordable healthcare and keeping their personal genetic and health information private.”

“Employers would be able to coerce employees into providing their genetic and health information and that of their families, even their children,” Scholes wrote in a letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

It is unclear if employer wellness programs actually produce better health outcomes for employees. Studies published by the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research institution, found that while wellness programs do produce some improvements in the health of employees, it doesn’t have enough impact to reduce the cost of health care and often doesn’t produce a return of investment.