Keywords

health insurance portability, preexisting conditions, health care reform

Abstract

THE RESPONSE OF THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION and Congress to the failed attempt at fundamental health care reform in 1993 has been a series of incremental measures that expand the government’s role in the health care system. One recent initiative, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), restricts the ability of insurers to exclude preexisting medical conditions from insurance coverage. It also requires insurance companies to issue or renew coverage for individuals who have been insured but who no longer have access to group health insurance coverage. Those provisions are intended to address the issue of health insurance portability–the ability of individuals to maintain health insurance coverage regardless of changes in their employment or personal situation.

Original Publication Citation

“Health Insurance Portability: The Consequences of COBRA.” 1998. Regulation, 21(1): 27-33. https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/regulation/1998/1/21-1f2.pdf