LRB-1314/1
PJK:mfd:ch
1997 - 1998 LEGISLATURE
March 6, 1997 - Introduced by Representatives Wasserman, Schneider, Urban,
Ainsworth, Baldwin, Bock, Carpenter, Cullen, Dobyns, Hahn, Hasenohrl,
Huber, Kreuser, Ladwig, La Fave, Murat, Musser, Notestein, Reynolds,
Riley, Robson, Ryba, L. Young, Ziegelbauer, Gronemus and Gunderson,
cosponsored by Senators Grobschmidt, Buettner and
Moen. Referred to
Committee on Consumer Affairs.
AB157,1,2
1An Act to create 631.89 (2) (bm) of the statutes;
relating to: prohibiting
2insurers from requesting genetic test information from health care providers.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, an insurer may not require or request an individual or a
member of the individual's family to obtain a genetic test, or require or request an
individual to reveal whether he or she or a family member has obtained a genetic test
or what the results of such a test, if obtained, were. An insurer may not condition
insurance coverage on, or consider in the determination of rates or any other aspect
of insurance coverage, whether an individual or a member of the individual's family
has obtained a genetic test or what the test results were. These prohibitions also
apply to a county, city, village or school board that provides health care benefits for
its employes on a self-insured basis, but do not apply to an insurer writing life or
income continuation insurance. A genetic test is defined as a test using
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to determine the presence of or predisposition for a
genetic disease or disorder.
This bill expands the prohibition against insurers from inquiring about genetic
tests to health care providers. Under the bill, an insurer, including a county, city,
village or school board that provides health care benefits on a self-insured basis, may
not require or request a health care provider who is providing or who has provided
health care services to an individual to reveal whether the individual or a family
member of the individual has obtained a genetic test or what the results of such a
test, if obtained, were. The bill uses the same comprehensive definition for "health
care provider" that is used in the provisions related to confidentiality of patient
health care records.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB157, s. 1
1Section
1. 631.89 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
AB157,2,62
631.89
(2) (bm) Require or request directly or indirectly a health care provider,
3as defined in s. 146.81 (1), who is or may be providing or who has or may have
4provided health care services to an individual to reveal whether the individual or a
5member of the individual's family has obtained a genetic test or what the results of
6the test, if obtained by the individual or a member of the individual's family, were.
