A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTIONS 38-63-120, 38-65-140, 38-71-300, AND 38-72-120 ALL SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS AND TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN INSURERS FROM CANCELING, LIMITING, OR DENYING COVERAGE, OR ESTABLISHING DIFFERENTIALS IN PREMIUM RATES BASED UPON GENETIC INFORMATION; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 38-71-105, RELATING TO DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE, SO AS TO PROVIDE INSURERS THAT ISSUE DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE POLICIES IN THIS STATE MAY NOT DECLINE OR LIMIT SUCH COVERAGE OR DISCRIMINATE IN THE OFFERING, ISSUANCE, OR CANCELLATION OF SUCH COVERAGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, BASED SOLELY ON GENETIC INFORMATION OF THE PROSPECTIVE INSURED.
H3257 would add new provisions to the South Carolina insurance code to restrict how insurers may use genetic information in underwriting and coverage decisions. It defines “genetic information” broadly as information derived from genetic testing about mutations, carrier status, or statistically increased disease risk, while excluding routine exams and ordinary lab work unless done specifically to obtain genetic information. The bill applies these protections to life insurance, accident and health insurance, and long-term care insurance, and it also amends the disability income insurance statute to add genetic-information protections alongside existing protections for living organ donors.
Under the bill, covered insurers could not require genetic testing or whole-genome sequencing as a condition of coverage, and could not request, obtain, or use genetic information for underwriting unless they first obtain the applicant’s signed written consent. Even with consent, insurers could not cancel, limit, or deny coverage based solely on genetic information. The bill includes exceptions for certain limited products such as accident-only, hospital indemnity, fixed indemnity, dental, and vision policies, and it preserves an insurer’s ability to review medical records and consider medical diagnoses, including diagnoses that may have been informed by genetic testing.
The bill would create new statutory prohibitions in Titles 38, Chapters 63, 65, 71, and 72 of the South Carolina Code, effectively adding a state-level genetic nondiscrimination framework for several insurance lines. It would expand the disability income insurance statute to bar adverse treatment based solely on genetic information, and it authorizes the Department of Insurance to enforce the disability-income provisions. The practical effect would be to limit insurers’ underwriting tools when genetic data is involved, while still allowing use of non-genetic medical diagnoses and medical records.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the apparent sentiment is protective of consumers and supportive of privacy and anti-discrimination principles. The measure is framed as a safeguard against insurers penalizing people for inherited or test-based genetic risk factors, and it mirrors a broader policy trend toward limiting genetic discrimination. No contrary positions are documented in the provided materials, but the structure of the bill suggests insurers may view it as a constraint on underwriting flexibility.
The main point of contention is likely the balance between consumer protection and insurer underwriting authority. Supporters would emphasize that people should not be forced to undergo genetic testing or be penalized for inherited risk, while insurers may argue that genetic information can be actuarially relevant and that the bill limits risk-based pricing. Another possible area of debate is the scope of consent and the bill’s allowance for insurers to access medical records and consider diagnoses derived from genetic testing, which preserves some underwriting use of related health information even as it restricts direct use of genetic data.