Illinois Public Employee Relations
REPORT
Spring 2009 • Volume 26, Number 2
Brave New Workplace: Genetic Discrimination By Lewis Maltby I. Introduction Mary Spencer was rejected for a job because she carries the gene linked to breast cancer. Mary's case is not unusual.1 A Georgetown University survey of people with genes linked to diseases such as breast cancer and Alzheimer's found that 13 percent had been fired because of their condition.2 Humanity has only known about the existence of genetics since the 19th century, when Austrian scientist Gregor Mendel, through his experiments with plants, proved that certain traits were inherited. But, it wasn't until 1953 that Francis Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkens discovered the structure of the DNA molecule, for which they won the Nobel Prize.3 In 2003, the Human Genome Project (a $3 billion dollar federal research program) had identified all 25,000 genes in the human body.4 Along the way, we learned that certain genes are linked to specific diseases For example, a person who carries the gene linked to Huntington's disease is certain to get the disease and die from it. There is no prevention, no cure, and no escape. In most cases, the connection is more complex and the outcome less certain. Most women who carry one of the two genes linked to breast cancer will not develop the disease and most women who develop
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breast cancer do not carry either gene. But women who carry these genes are almost twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those who do not.5 Genes linked to Alzheimer's, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, sickle cell disease, TaySachs, and many other diseases have also been identified.6 In all, 35 genes with links to specific diseases have been identified, and more are constantly being discovered. Technology has developed that can determine the presence of many of these genes in particular individuals. In the long run, this knowledge could be a blessing. The first step to finding a cure for any disease is learning about how it is contracted. Bill Frist, the former Republican Senate Majority Leader and a physician, says that "research involving the human genome may open doors to new methods of medical diagnoses and treatment – to a new practice of medicine involving drugs designed for specific genes, genetically engineered organs for use in transplants, or even preventative care based on genetic testing."7 Immediate implications of these genetic breakthroughs, however, are anything but benevolent. Most Americans get their medical insurance through their employers. Employers who pay for much of our medical care have a financial incentive to keep the costs down.
In recent years, the cost of medical care has soared We now spend $2.4 trillion a year on health care, consuming 17 percent of our gross domestic product.8 Health care costs are increasing twice as fast as inflation. Over the next ten years, medical costs are projected to reach $4.3 trillion.9 Employers have been hit hard by these escalating costs. In the last ten years, annual health insurance premiums have increased 120 percent.10 It now costs an employer $12,700 a year to provide health insurance for an employee with a family and $4,700 for a single employee.11 General Motors spends more on health care than it does for the steel from which it makes cars.12 Employers sometimes cry wolf about costs, but the unending spiral of increasing medical costs is a real problem. Employers have tried everything they can think of to reduce medical costs. They put employees into HMO and other managed care plans. Health care experts had high hopes for this new approach, but costs kept going up. Employers also increased copayments.The average co-pay is now $3,400, up 12 percent in a single year.13 This imposed hardship on many families. A Harvard University study found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were the result of medical debt.14 But cost shifting has not solved employers' problem; the