In business, as in medicine, there is no point in asking a question or doing a test unless you plan to act on the results. Since all of these risk factors can increase the chance of illness, and illness costs money, it’s hard to see this legislation as anything other than a vehicle for discriminating against the afflicted.

For patients like me, mutations only signal increased risk; they don’t tell you who will get cancer, what type or when. For some mutations, different labs offer different interpretations of the same results. This legislation would put genetic information into the hands of people who probably don’t know what to do with it, or how to protect it.

It would also decrease participation in genetic research that benefits millions. Mutation-related cancers act like spotlights in a crowd, pointing investigators toward key cellular functions and thus informing the diagnosis and treatment of all cancers.

Finally, it could discourage patients from seeking preventive care. Among the wonders of this time in medical history are my knowledge of my mutant gene and my ability to do something about it; available procedures can lower my lifetime risk of developing cancer, which would otherwise be 40 percent to 65 percent.

Every year or two, I’m screened for intestinal cancers so that tumors can be caught early. I dread these procedures. Day 1 is starvation followed by a night of swallowing huge quantities of nauseating liquid and hours on the toilet. Day 2 is missed work, anesthesia, hangover and recovery.

For my 50th birthday, I had my past-their-use-by-date reproductive organs removed before they could hurt or kill me. All my parts went to cancer research, which is great, though I now understand why people write both tragedies and comedies about menopause.

All this could save my life, but it hasn’t been fun, and it can be a hard sell for patients, particularly if they have other health issues or can’t miss work. Adding the fear of financial penalties or unemployment runs counter to good medicine and smart public policy.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act has helped preserve my health. The absurdly titled Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act would do just the opposite. Congress and the president should kill that bill, not their fellow Americans.