I have health insurance and I’m grateful for that.  Right now, I’m grateful that health insurance providers, among others, cannot discriminate based on genetics.  What the LA Times called the “most sweeping federal anti-discrimination law in nearly 20 years,” went into effect this past Saturday.  Knowledge of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act could probably have stopped me from putting up with a very inappropriate situation.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a genetic condition. As a consequence of it, I have a lot of doctors’ appointments…  When I first started work at this shiny, new exciting firm, I let my manager know that I had a couple doc visits coming up.  She flipped, escalated it to the HR, who implied that I was faking it and required that I document everything (this is the situation outlined in our privacy policy).   Of course, this situation was probably a violation of my rights under previous regulations and legislation, but I am grateful that I am very clearly protected now.