United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-09-19 monographic deposited born digital 24 p. GA 1.13:HEHS-95-257 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257 P0b002ee18039bd1d f:he95257 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257 HEHS-95-257 Health insurance Health maintenance organizations Employee medical benefits Proposed legislation Health insurance cost control Employee benefit plans Insurance regulation State law Census Bureau Current Population Survey Health Insurance Reform Act of 1995 Working Families Health Access Act of 1995 Letter Report HEHS

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the protections offered by current state and federal health insurance portability reforms; (2) the number of people who could be affected by broader national portability standards; and (3) other issues related to the design of national portability standards.<p/>GAO found that: (1) although current federal and state laws have improved the portability of health insurance, an individual's health care coverage can still be reduced when changing jobs; (2) 40 states enacted small group insurance regulations between 1990 and 1994 that included portability standards, but the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 prevents states from applying these standards to the health plans of employers who self fund; (3) up to 21 million Americans a year would benefit from federal legislation that would waive preexisting condition exclusions for individuals who have had continuous health care coverage; and (4) as many as 4 million Americans who have been unwilling to leave their jobs because of concerns about losing their health care coverage would benefit from national portability standards. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257/pdf/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257.pdf GAO/HEHS-95-257 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-95-257 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-95-257; Health Insurance Portability: Reform Could Ensure Continued Coverage for Up to 25 Million Americans; Health insurance Health maintenance organizations Employee medical benefits Proposed legislation Health insurance cost control Employee benefit plans Insurance regulation State law Census Bureau Current Population Survey Health Insurance Reform Act of 1995 Working Families Health Access Act of 1995 Title 29 Section 1161et seq. 29 U.S.C. 1161et seq. Volume 88 Page 829 88 Stat. 829 Public Law 93-406