Future Policy
Currently, many legislators have become more aware of the changing situation involving genetic information. The most recent bill passed was the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008. A national act signed into law by former President Bush on May 21, 2008, the act specifically addresses protecting "Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment."( National Institutes of Health, 2009). Based on a fact sheet provided April 6, 2009, GINA does not completely recreate protection law; instead, it strengthens the protection laws outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) signed into law by former President Clinton in 1996(U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2009). The main benefit of the GINA act was to outline legally what can be defined as genetic information. It classifies this information as an individuals genetic tests, their families tests, tests done on "any embryo legally held by an individual," family history, or any genetic service utilized by an individual (National Institutes of Health, 2009). In the future, this policy may change. Genetic information may be seen as something someone could google or a requirement on a job application. If this is true, great descrimination may take place based on the results of genetic testing.