In last week’s Sunday New York Times, a prominent medical researcher asserts that the failure of Congress to pass the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) could hamper advances in preventative medicine.

From the article, entitled “Insurance Fears Lead Many to Shun DNA Tests”:

But thousands of people accustomed to a health insurance system in which known risks carry financial penalties are drawing their own conclusions about how a genetic predisposition to disease is likely to be regarded.

As a result, the ability to more effectively prevent and treat genetic disease is faltering even as the means to identify risks people are born with are improving.

“It’s pretty clear that the public is afraid of taking advantage of genetic testing,” said Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health . “If that continues, the future of medicine that we would all like to see happen stands the chance of being dead on arrival.”

GINA would make it illegal for health insurers to deny coverage or charge a higher rate or premium to an otherwise healthy individual found to have a potential genetic condition or genetic predisposition towards a disease or disorder. GINA would also make it illegal for employers to use an genetic information when making hiring, firing, placement, or promotion decisions.

GINA’s author and leading Congressional advocate, Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), writes in the Huffington Post:

Only with comprehensive federal legislation will we be able to deter further discrimination, encourage people to participate in genetic testing and research, and reduce long-term health costs. GINA does more than stamp out a relatively new form of discrimination. It would ensure that our country continues to lead in a field of scientific research that holds as much promise as any other in history.

The measure passed in the House of Representatives on April 25, 2007 by a vote of 420-3. Representative Slaughter has accused Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) of placing a hold on the bill , causing it to be stalled in the Senate. Efforts to include the provisions of GINA in the budget bill failed late last year.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 34 states already prohibit genetic discrimination in employment.

• WATCH LIST: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.