abstract:The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (, GINA, pronounced J-eye-na), is an Act of Congress in the United States designed to prohibit the use of genetic information in health insurance and employment. The Act 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.
The case helped lead to a 2008 law, the GeneticInformationNondiscriminationAct, which prohibits HMOs from raising rates and employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of their genetic profiles.
While the GeneticInformationNondiscriminationAct was signed into law in the United States in 2008, the protection it will provide against discrimination by employers and health insurance companies for employment and coverage issues has not been clearly established.