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Long title | An act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. |
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Acronyms (colloquial) | GINA |
Enacted by | the 110th United States Congress |
Effective | May 21, 2008 |
Citations | |
Public law | 110-233 |
Statutes at Large | 122 Stat. 881 |
Codification | |
Acts amended | Employee Retirement Income Security Act Public Health Service Act Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Social Security Act of 1965 Fair Labor Standards Act |
Titles amended | 29, 42 |
U.S.C. sections amended | 29 U.S.C. § 216(e) 29 U.S.C. § 1132 29 U.S.C. § 1182 29 U.S.C. § 1182(b) 29 U.S.C. § 1191b(d) 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-1 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-1(b) 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-21(b)(2) 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-22(b) 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-51 et seq. 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-61(b) 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-91 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-91(d) 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss(o) 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss(s)(2) |
Legislative history | |
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The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–233 (text) (PDF), 122 Stat. 881, enacted May 21, 2008, GINA /ˈdʒiː.nə/ JEE-nə), is an Act of Congress in the United States designed to prohibit some types of genetic discrimination. The act bars the use of genetic information in health insurance and employment: it prohibits group health plans and health insurers from denying coverage to a healthy individual or charging that person higher premiums based solely on a genetic predisposition to developing a disease in the future, and it bars employers from using individuals' genetic information when making hiring, firing, job placement, or promotion decisions.[1] Senator Ted Kennedy called it the "first major new civil rights bill of the new century."[2] The Act contains amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974[3] and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.[4]
In 2008, on April 24 H.R. 493 passed the Senate 95-0. The bill was then sent back to the House of Representatives and passed 414-1 on May 1; the lone dissenter was Congressman Ron Paul.[5] President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on May 21, 2008.[6][7]