The Portland Press Herald reports:
Senate Democrats and Republicans struck a deal on Tuesday to consider landmark legislation protecting genetic privacy.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, would prevent health insurance companies and employers from discriminating against those who could be predisposed to a disease or illness based on a genetic test.
“More than a decade after we began the effort to protect Americans from genetic discrimination, the Senate is finally poised to see the fruition of those efforts,†Snowe said in a statement.
The bill could reach the Senate floor on Wednesday. The Senate passed similar bills by wide margins in 2003 and 2005. A similar bill passed the House last year.