[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2842 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2842

  To amend chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, concerning the 
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, to enable the Federal 
  Government to enroll an employee and his or her family in the FEHB 
   Program when a State court orders the employee to provide health 
 insurance coverage for a child of the employee but the employee fails 
                        to provide the coverage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 13, 1999

Mr. Cummings (for himself, Ms. Norton, and Mrs. Morella) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government 
                                 Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, concerning the 
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, to enable the Federal 
  Government to enroll an employee and his or her family in the FEHB 
   Program when a State court orders the employee to provide health 
 insurance coverage for a child of the employee but the employee fails 
                        to provide the coverage.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
cited as the ``Federal Employees Health Benefits Children's Equity Act 
of 1999''.
    Sec. 2. Section 8905 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g);
            (b) by inserting before subsection (g), as so redesignated, 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) An unenrolled employee who is required by a court or 
administrative order to provide health insurance coverage for a child 
who meets the requirements of section 8901(5) may enroll for self and 
family coverage in a health benefits plan under this chapter. If such 
employee fails to enroll for self and family coverage in a health 
benefits plan that provides full benefits and services in the location 
in which the child resides, and the employee does not provide 
documentation showing that such coverage has been provided through 
other health insurance, the employing agency shall enroll the employee 
in a self and family enrollment in the option which provides the lower 
level of coverage under the Service Benefit Plan.
    ``(2) An employee who is enrolled as an individual in a health 
benefits plan under this chapter and who is required by a court or 
administrative order to provide health insurance coverage for a child 
who meets the requirements of section 8901(5) may change to a self and 
family enrollment in the same or another health benefits plan under 
this chapter. If such employee fails to change to a self and family 
enrollment and the employee does not provide documentation showing that 
such coverage has been provided through other health insurance, the 
employing agency shall change the enrollment of the employee to a self 
and family enrollment in the plan in which the employee is enrolled if 
that plan provides full benefits and services in the location where the 
child resides. If the plan in which the employee is enrolled does not 
provide full benefits and services in the location in which the child 
resides, or, if the employee fails to change to a self and family 
enrollment in a plan that provides full benefits and services in the 
location where the child resides, the employing agency shall change the 
coverage of the employee to a self and family enrollment in the option 
which provides the lower level of coverage under the Service Benefits 
Plan.
    ``(3) the employee may not discontinue the self and family 
enrollment in a plan that provides full benefits and services in the 
location in which the child resides for so long as the court or 
administrative order remains in effect and the child continues to meet 
the requirements of section 8901(5), unless the employee provides 
documentation showing that such coverage has been provided through 
other health insurance.''.
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