Prohibits insurance companies from discriminating based on genetic predisposition including refusing to issue or renew, charging any increased rate, or restricting any length of coverage; prohibits insurers from requiring genetic testing.
This bill, titled the "Dennis Crawley genetic protection act of New York," would amend the Insurance Law to prohibit life, accident, health, disability, long-term care, and medical indemnity insurers from discriminating against individuals based on genetic predisposition. It bars insurers from conditioning rates, coverage, renewals, or other policy terms on an individual’s agreement to undergo genetic testing, and it also prohibits insurers from requiring, soliciting, or using genetic information or genetic testing results for insurance purposes.
The bill further forbids insurers from refusing to issue or renew a policy, canceling coverage, or changing policy terms because of a person’s genetic predisposition or that of a family member. At the same time, it preserves an insurer’s ability to access medical records when otherwise permitted by law and to consider medical diagnoses contained in those records, even if the diagnosis was based on genetic testing. The bill would take effect immediately and would replace the existing Insurance Law section on this topic with a new version.
The bill would significantly strengthen New York’s restrictions on the use of genetic information in underwriting and coverage decisions across several lines of insurance, including life, health, disability, long-term care, and medical indemnity. It would repeal the current Insurance Law section 2615 and enact a new section with broader and more explicit prohibitions on requiring genetic testing, using genetic test results, or denying or altering coverage based on genetic predisposition. It also cross-references the Civil Rights Law definitions for "genetic testing" and "genetic predisposition," helping align insurance rules with existing state law terminology.
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history available with the bill text, so no direct legislative debate or roll-call sentiment can be assessed from the provided materials. Based on the bill’s caption and structure, the measure appears to be framed as a consumer-protection and privacy bill intended to prevent genetic discrimination in insurance. The absence of recorded opposition or amendments in the provided context means the overall sentiment cannot be measured beyond the bill’s protective purpose.
The main policy tension in the bill is between protecting individuals from genetic discrimination and preserving insurers’ ability to evaluate risk using medical information. The bill draws that line by banning the use of genetic testing and predisposition information, while still allowing insurers to review medical records and consider diagnoses contained in them. Potentially contentious issues include whether the restrictions go far enough to prevent indirect use of genetic information, how family-member predisposition is treated, and whether insurers may view the limits as constraining underwriting practices. No specific opponents or supporters are identified in the provided materials.