Health insurance companies that refuse to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions will be barred from providing federal employees with health insurance, President Clinton announced Tuesday.
Clinton ordered the Office of Personnel Management to remove insurers from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) if they violate a law that prevents companies from refusing to insure people with pre-existing medical conditions when they change jobs.
"As the single-largest buyer of private health insurance, the federal government speaks with a very loud voice. With that voice, we now put health plans on notice: This administration has zero tolerance for actions that undermine these vital health care protections," Clinton said. "If you say no to people with pre-existing conditions, the federal government will say no to you."
Clinton signed an executive memorandum instructing OPM to certify that all companies offering health insurance to federal employees are in compliance with the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. About 350 companies participate in FEHBP.
Clinton also announced that the Health Care Financing Administration and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, state government officials who enforce insurance regulations, will report companies who violate the law to OPM.
The 1996 law, commonly called the Kennedy-Kassebaum Act, lets employees keep health insurance after they leave a job and protects the coverage of people with pre-existing conditions when they take a new job. Clinton said he has received reports that some companies are avoiding the law.
"Reports have shown that some health plans are paying no more than lip service to the requirements of the law," Clinton said. "That is unacceptable. It is wrong."
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