Law / United States / 
Iowa
Genetic information in health insurance: limits on release, discrimination and underwriting by health insurers and third-party administrators
In force.
A sensitive categories rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Consent
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- If you are a third-party administrator or health insurer, do not release genetic information pertaining to an individual without the individual's prior written authorization, required for each disclosure and naming the person to whom the disclosure is made (Iowa Code 729.6(4)(a)(1)).
- If you are a health insurer, do not discriminate against an individual or a member of the individual's family on the basis of genetic information or genetic testing (729.6(4)(b)(1)).
- If you are a health insurer, do not consider a genetic propensity, susceptibility or carrier status a preexisting condition for limiting or excluding benefits, establishing rates or providing coverage (729.6(4)(b)(2)).
- If you are a health insurer, do not use genetic information or genetic testing for underwriting health insurance in the individual and group markets (729.6(4)(b)(3)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
Section 507B.7(1)(a) lets the Commissioner of Insurance, after hearing, order a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each act or violation, up to an aggregate of $10,000, or, if the person knew or reasonably should have known of the violation, not more than $5,000 for each act or violation, up to an aggregate of $50,000 in any one six-month period. The Commissioner may also suspend or revoke the license of a person who knew or reasonably should have known of the violation (section 507B.7(1)(b)).
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Fixed cap
- 50,000
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 5,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Iowa Commissioner of Insurance, who adopts rules to administer subsection 4 (Iowa Code 729.6(4)(c)) and orders penalties after hearing for an unfair insurance trade practice (507B.7).
What this law does
In section 729.6 of the Iowa Code, a health insurer means a carrier as defined in section 513B.2, and a third-party administrator has the meaning given in section 510.11. Subsection 4 of section 729.6 bars a third-party administrator or health insurer from releasing genetic information pertaining to an individual without the individual's prior written authorization.
Subsection 4 of section 729.6 lifts the authorization requirement for individuals participating in research settings, for tests conducted purely for research, for tests for somatic mutations, for forensic testing, for newborn screening, for paternity testing and for criminal investigations. Subsection 4 of section 729.6 bars a health insurer from discriminating against an individual or a member of the individual's family on the basis of genetic information or genetic testing.
Subsection 4 of section 729.6 bars a health insurer from using genetic information or genetic testing for underwriting health insurance in the individual and group markets. Subsection 4 of section 729.6 makes a violation of that subsection an unfair insurance trade practice under section 507B.4.
Section 507B.7 lets the Commissioner of Insurance order a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each act or violation, up to $10,000 in the aggregate, or up to $5,000 for each act or violation, up to $50,000 in any one six-month period, if the person knew or reasonably should have known of the violation. Chapter 1153 of the 2010 Acts, Senate File 2215, added subsection 7A, release or use of genetic information, to section 507B.4.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app is an insurer or processes biometric data.