It's in the Genes

Last week, in an unusual outbreak of near-unanimity, Congress veered briefly from its pre-election holding pattern and delivered a resounding victory for consumer rights. The House gave final approval to a historic bill that would ban health insurers and employers from discriminating against Americans based on their genetic profiles. The 414-1 vote (the only holdout being Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside) came just a week after the Senate approved the bill 95-0. President Bush has said he will sign it...

There is ample evidence that a fundamental restructuring is overdue: Other equally discriminatory factors remain unaddressed and in fact are worsening. Insurers and some employers continue to cherry-pick the healthiest, least vulnerable candidates. People with pre-existing conditions and chronic illnesses face the same kind of discrimination that this bill has corrected in the area of genetic testing. Americans with such conditions either are refused insurance outright or are forced to pay substantially higher premiums for limited coverage.

More than 47 million Americans have no health insurance, millions more are underinsured, and about half of all personal bankruptcies are precipitated by illness. The stark truth is that for millions of hardworking, low- and middle-income Americans, health care is unaffordable.

The United States is the only industrialized nation in which the ability to pay dictates the level of health care. While it spends more per capita than any other country, it does not achieve better outcomes or life expectancy. Presidential candidates are offering their positions on health care, and this week the Senate Finance Committee held the first of several hearings on overhauling the U.S. health system.

The handwriting is on the wall, or more likely in the genes: Universal coverage is the fairest, most logical response both to future scientific advances and current discriminatory practices. Let the restructuring begin.