CHAPTER 304
HB 1589 - FINAL VERSION
30march00.....3705h
5/18/00.....4505s
5/18/00.....4590s
31mayoo.....4721-CofC
31may00.....4768-EBA
2000 SESSION
01/09
HOUSE BILL 1589
AN ACT relative to informed consent for genetic testing and establishing a committee to study issues relating to the use of medical testing in underwriting insurance and a committee to study the need for standards to protect the privacy of customer information in the financial services industry.
This bill clarifies the issue of informed consent for genetic testing. This bill establishes a committee to study the use of genetic and other health information testing and access to the results of such tests with respect to certain insurance policies.
This bill also establishes a committee to study the need for standards to protect the privacy of customer information in the financial services industry.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
30march00.....3705h
5/18/00.....4505s
5/18/00.....4590s
31mayoo.....4721-CofC
31may00.....4768-EBA
00-2595
01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT relative to informed consent for genetic testing and establishing a committee to study issues relating to the use of medical testing in underwriting insurance and a committee to study the need for standards to protect the privacy of customer information in the financial services industry.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
304:1 Reference Additions. Amend RSA 141-H:2, II and III to read as follows:
II. Except as required to establish paternity under RSA 522, or as required to test newborns for metabolic disorders under RSA 132:10-a, or as required for purposes of criminal investigations and prosecutions, or as is necessary to the functions of the office of chief medical examiner, no genetic testing shall be done in this state on any individual or anywhere on any resident of this state based on bodily materials obtained within this state, without the prior written and informed consent of the individual to be tested, the parent, guardian, or custodian if the individual is a minor under the age of 18, or the legal guardian or conservator if the individual is an incompetent person. The results of any such test shall be provided only to those persons approved in writing by the individual, the parent, guardian, or custodian if the individual is a minor under the age of 18, or the legal guardian or conservator if the individual is an incompetent person. No person shall refuse to perform genetic testing, or to arrange for genetic testing to be performed, or to do business with an individual, solely because the individual to be tested refuses to consent to providing the test results to some or all persons.
III. Except as provided in paragraph II, no person shall disclose to any other person that an individual has undergone genetic testing, and no person shall disclose the results of such testing to any other person, without the prior written and informed consent of the individual, the parent, guardian, or custodian if the individual is a minor under the age of 18, or the legal guardian or conservator if the individual is an incompetent person. Discussion and disclosure of genetic testing for a patient, requested of a physician by a patient, by appropriate professionals within a physician's medical practice or hospital shall not be a violation of this chapter.
304:2 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study and review issues relating to the use of genetic and other health information testing and access to the results of such tests in connection with life, disability income, and long-term care insurance.
304:3 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house.
(b) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
304:4 Duties.
I. The committee shall study the following matters:
(a) Personal privacy interests relating to genetic and other health information test results.
(b) All issues concerning the definition of genetic testing and the potential consequences of a prohibition or restriction on the use of genetic testing and other health information or access to results of genetic tests and other health information in connection with insurance underwriting.
(c) The options available to the general court to balance the protection of privacy of genetic information and other health information with the potential adverse impact on the availability and affordability of life, disability income, and long-term care insurance.
II. The committee shall seek input from interested parties including, but not limited to, the commissioner of insurance, an individual familiar with Bioethics as it pertains to Genome Research, insurance consumers, insurance companies, and the American Council of Life Insurers.
304:5 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section.
304:6 Report. The committee shall submit a report together with its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2000.
304:7 Policy of State; Privacy of Certain Information.
I. It is the policy of this state to protect the privacy of consumers of financial services institutions and their affiliates, including banks, insurance companies, and securities underwriters and brokerages, without unduly inhibiting the free flow of commerce or legitimate law enforcement activities. The state supports the adoption and implementation of fair information practices for the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information by financial services institutions and their affiliates. The state urges all record keepers to adopt and implement reasonable, fair information practices suitable for the types of records that they maintain.
II. It is also the policy of this state that individually identifiable health information, including medical and pharmaceutical data, in the possession of financial services institutions should not be provided to any other person for any purposes other than those that the individual to whom the information relates would reasonably expect.
III. The legislature may determine the methods of implementing these policies.
304:8 Committee Established. There is established a committee to conduct a study on the need for standards to protect financial services information privacy.
304:9 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house; and
(b) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Staff assistance for the committee shall be provided by the banking and insurance departments.
III. The committee shall solicit information and participation from representatives of affected groups, organizations, and agencies.
IV. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
304:10 Duties.
I. The committee shall study the need for standards to protect the privacy of customer information in the financial services industry. The financial services industry includes, but is not limited to, banks, insurance companies, credit bureaus, credit grantors, stock brokers, mutual fund companies, and any other institution engaging in activities that are financial in nature, or incidental to such financial activities, as described in the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999.
II. The study shall consider existing proposals that set standards for the protection of privacy of customer information, including, but not limited to:
(a) The Health Information Privacy Model Act established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; and
(b) Recommendations developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services on Privacy of Medical Information.
304:11 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
304:12 Report. The committee shall make an interim report on its findings together with any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2000 and shall make a final report on or before November 1, 2001.
304:13 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
(Approved: June 21, 2000)
(Effective Date: June 21, 2000)