House Of Reps OK For Health Insurance Bill

Finally, the US House of Representatives has approved legislation to guarantee portability of health insurance for those who lose or leave their jobs (Marketletter April 1). The bill, the first major effort to expand health insurance coverage to reach the floor since President Clinton's ill-fated 1994 ambitious health plan, limits to 12 months the length of time an insurer could deny coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions and would let those who lost group insurance buy individual policies.

The measure now goes back to the Senate, where Majority Leader Bob Dole has scheduled a debate for this month on a more modest measure which has bipartisan backing as well as the support of the White House.

Other provisions in the House bill include ceilings on medical malpractice and medical savings accounts, which have been criticized by the White House and Democrats. An attempt to substitute a more limited measure failed, as did a try to replace it with the Senate version.