[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 87 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEVIN:
  S. 2262 A bill to amend chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code, 
relating to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, to enable 
the Federal Government to enroll an employee and the family of the 
employee in the program when a State court orders the employee to 
provide health insurance coverage for a child of an employee but the 
employee fails to provide the coverage, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Governmental Affairs.


    Federal Employees Health Benefits Children's Equity Act of 1998

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, today I introduce the Federal 
Employees Health Benefit Children's Equity Act of 1998.
  This legislation concerns Federal employees who are under a court 
order to provide health insurance to their dependent children. If a 
Federal employee is under such a court order and his dependent children 
have no health insurance coverage, the Federal government would be 
authorized to enroll the employee in a ``family coverage'' health plan. 
If the employee is not enrolled in any health care plan, the Federal 
government would be authorized to enroll the employee in the ``family 
coverage'' plan of the standard option of the service benefit plan, 
typically Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The bill would also prevent the 
employee from canceling health coverage for his children for the term 
of the court order.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the summary was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

       Section 1 provides the bill's short title, the ``Federal 
     Employees Health Benefits Children's Equity Act of 1997.''
       Section 2 would amend 5 U.S.C. Sec. 8905 by adding a new 
     subsection (f) to allow an employee who is not enrolled in an 
     FEHB plan to enroll in a plan for self and family coverage if 
     the employee is required by a court order or administrative 
     order to provide health insurance coverage for a child who 
     meets the definition of ``member of family'' under 5 U.S.C. 
     8901(5). Moreover, if such an employee fails to enroll and 
     cannot show that the child is covered by other health 
     insurance, this section would require the employing agency to 
     enroll the employee for self and family under the low-option 
     Service Benefit Plan (currently Blue Cross/Blue Shield).
       Section 2 also prescribes similar treatment for a 
     similarly-situated employee who is enrolled as an individual 
     in an FEHB plan. The amendment would ensure that, under the 
     circumstances described in the preceding paragraph, the 
     employee's enrollment would be changed to a self and family 
     enrollment that would cover the child. An employee who did 
     not so change his or her enrollment voluntarily would be 
     enrolled for self and family in the same plan in which the 
     employee was already covered as an individual, unless that 
     plan does not provide full benefits and services where the 
     child resides. In the latter event, the employee would be 
     enrolled for self and family under the low-option Service 
     Benefit Plan.
       Finally, Section 2 would create the new section 8905(f) of 
     title 5 that would bar the employee from discontinuing the 
     self and family enrollment as long as the order remains in 
     effect and the child continues to meet the definition in 
     section 8901(f), unless the employee can show that the child 
     has other health insurance.
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