Approval of information collection requirements for the joint interim rules for health insurance portability for group health plans, and the individual market health insurance reform: portability from group to individual coverage; federal rules for access in the individual market; state alternative mechanisms to federal rules--IRS, DOL, HCFA. Interim rules with request for comments; approval of information collection requirements.

On April 8, 1997, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services (Departments) published joint interim rules governing the access, portability and renewability requirements for group health plans and issuers offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan. The rules implemented changes made to certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) enacted as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). In the April 8 publication, the Departments submitted the group market information collection requirements, for, among other things, establishing creditable coverage, notice of special enrollment rights, and notice of pre-existing condition exclusion periods, to be Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency review under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95). In addition, on April 8, 1997 the Department of Health and Human Services submitted the HIPAA individual market information collection requirements to OMB for emergency review under the PRA 1995. This document amends the April 8 Federal Register documents to properly display the OMB control numbers.