While protecting genetic privacy might seem like an obvious thing to work towards, not all of our elected officials in Congress agree. In 2017, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act was introduced to Congress which sought an exemption for employers under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to allow them to require genetic testing for employee healthcare plans. The bill claims that it would allow employers to offer employee wellness plans that would promote healthier lifestyles for employees by providing incentives such as reducing out-of-pocket costs for the company-provided insurance plan. Promoting wellness by rewarding healthier lifestyle choices is, of course, a good and noble cause. Unfortunately, the bill outlined not only the carrot but the stick as well. Employers can impose "surcharges, penalties, or other inducements" on employees. This means that employees who refuse genetic testing or aren't meeting the employer's idea of a "healthy lifestyle" could have to pay more for their healthcare. It would be hard to say the employees still have a "choice" to submit to DNA testing when refusing could mean being bankrupted by their next trip to the hospital.
As with everything in a capitalist system, all that matters is a company's bottom line. While healthier people might seem to benefit from these "wellness programs", no one is benefiting more than the employers implementing them. From their perspective, it's a win-win situation for them financially. Most employers have to provide health insurance plans for their employees. The unhealthier employees are, the more they use their insurance, and the more employers end up having to pay. If employers successfully encourage employees to be healthier, they save money. If they don't, they can simply charge the employees more and, you guessed it, still, save money.
As healthcare costs continue to soar, a bill to allow employers to profit off their employees disguised as something to promote healthy lifestyles is deplorable at best. Representative Foxx (who initially introduced the bill) and all other legislators that supported this bill deceived their constituents with flowery language in an attempt to strip individuals' rights to genetic privacy.