Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)

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Dear Student,
Hi and thank you for using Brainmass. The solution below should get you started. In this particular task, you are asking for help in completing a paper on genetic testing. Since you have to have a literature review that is to be the basis of your paper, I suggest using easy to break down materials to make building positions and perspectives easy as well. I suggest using this simple outline:

1. Literature Review
a. Article a - 150 words
b. article b - 150 words
c. article c - 150 words
2. About the GINA - 150 words
3. Events that led to GINA - 200 words
4. Application of GINA in business - 200 words
5. Ethical considerations - 200 words
6. Policy Recommendations
a. recommendation 1 - 100 words
b. recommendation 2 - 100 words
c. recommendation 3 - 100 words
7. Summary - 200 words

This outline should cover what you need (give or take the text for article details). Keep it simple and straight to the point. Also, don't forget to add information utilized in your class materials. You can use the listed resources to further explore the topic. Just let me know via the feedback section if you need further clarification. All the best with your studies.

Sincerely,
AE 105878/Xenia Jones

Genetic Testing Policy: Workplace Application Reviews

This review looks into the consequence and application of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) the long title of which is "An act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment." It was enacted by the 110th US Congress on the 21st of May and as a public law, it bars health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and group health plans from denying healthy individuals from being accepted into a health insurance scheme. Additionally, it bars the charging of high premiums based on genetic predisposition alone with a view to the individual developing that disease in the future. Employers cannot additionally fire, hire, make job placements or promote in the workplace based on genetic information. Signed to law by then Pres. GW Bush, it is deemed an important Civil Rights legislation for the 21st century. Below, I have listed 3 articles that discuss the implications of this law to the workplace. These studies have different purposes and perspectives.

Literature Review

Article 1

• Author: Staley, K.
• Title: Genetic Testing in the Workplace
• Details: Report written for Gene Watch UK, June 2003
• URL: http://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/GeneticTesting.pdf

While written for an NGO(Gene Watch UK, an advocacy group that keeps tabs on genetic science and development for public interest), Staley's (2003) report is a straightforward, summative information resource that looked at genetic testing in the workplace in general terms. Research from the US as well as the UK are highlighted and her work covered quite a number of issues and areas of interest in the field including employer motivation for genetic testing as well as the likely fit (and likely conflict) of using genetic tests with current employment systems and its legal implications both to employers and employees. She goes into a very accessible discussion of the types of genetic tests done and also lists UK, US, European and other international laws that discuss or attempt to cover/safeguard genetic discrimination in the workplace. In her opening statement, she alleges that, "Genetic tests for susceptibility to occupational disease are being developed and a few have already been used in workplaces in the USA. However, none of these tests can accurately or reliably predict whether an individual is at risk. It is neither scientifically nor ethically valid to use these tests for employment purposes, but there is a real danger that they could be used inappropriately to discriminate unfairly against employees." Staley's (2003) work provides a good 'big picture' of genetic discrimination as it applies to the West, not just in the US.

Article 2

• Author: Stewart, J. & Tran, D.T.
• Title: The Ethics of Genetic Testing
• Details: an eBook published by Ethica Publishing, it is one of the Research Chapters that make up the edited book, "The Ethical Imperative in the Context of Evolving Technologies," published in 2004
• URL: http://www.ethicapublishing.com/3CH1.htm

While this study is considered chapter 3 of the Ethical Imperatives tome (2004), the work of Stewart and Tran (2004) can also be treated as a standalone study. This work focuses on the ethical principles and questions that are relevant to genetic screening. The genetic screening discussed in the study is that which was undertaken by the Human Genome Project, the goal of which, "includes developing an information system for collecting, storing, retrieving, analyzing, interpreting, and ...