|
Today the U.S. Department of Labor is issuing
final rules that would implement provisions of the Child Support Performance
and Incentive Act of 1998 that are intended to help children gain access to
coverage under their noncustodial parents' employer-based group health plans.
This regulation is effective 30 days from today's publication in The Federal
Register, which is Jan. 26, 2001.
The final rule provides a simple and uniform
National Medical Support Notice to be used by the states in carrying out their
responsibilities in child support enforcement and that administrators of group
health plans will be able to determine readily are qualified medical child
support orders under section 609(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Simultaneously, the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services also is issuing final rules under the Social Security Act
implementing the use of the National Medical Support Notice by state agencies
that administer child support enforcement programs.
These final rules would affect group health plans,
participants and their children and state child support enforcement agencies.
Medical child support orders require noncustodial parents to include their
children under employer-based health insurance coverage. The orders are
established and enforced by the state child support enforcement agencies.
In developing the National Medical Support Notice
proposal, the departments were assisted by a working group established to
identify impediments to medical child support enforcement. The group, which
included representatives of employers and plan sponsors and administrators,
submitted a report to the secretaries of labor and health and human services
earlier in 2000. |
