House Republicans are proposing legislation aimed at making it easier for companies to gather genetic data from workers and their families, including their children, when they collect it as part of a voluntary wellness program.
The bill, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, introduced by Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, would also significantly increase the financial costs faced by someone who does not join a company wellness program.
And here I thought Republicans were opposed to mandates for health care. Only from the government, I guess. When it’s corporations doing it, everything is just ducky.
As far as I’m concerned, this is just another good reason to ditch employer health insurance and move to a true national health care system. I suppose Virginia Foxx doesn’t see it that way, but then again, I’ll bet Congress doesn’t have a wellness program either. She might feel differently if she were the one being badgered into taking yoga classes.
UPDATE: This is even worse than I thought. Eric Levitz has the grim details here.
