The Internal Revenue Service, the Dept. of Labor’s Employee Benefits Services Administration, and the Dept. of Health and Human Services are seeking comments for rules under the recently enacted Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

The request for comment covers nine areas, including asking: the extent to which group health plans and health insurance issuers currently use genetic information, such as family medical history, and for what purpose (i.e. group rating or wellness programs, etc.); how plans and issuers currently obtain genetic information (for example, through health risk assessments, Medical Information Bureau, or other entities); what circumstances lead plans or issuers to currently request or require an individual to take a genetic test; what circumstances lead plans or issuers to ask for the results of a genetic test in order to make a determination regarding payment of benefits; what types of research do plans or issuers currently conduct or support using genetic tests; and when might genetic information be collected incidentally.

The comments are due on or before December 9, 2008.