The Obama administration has released new regulations that wouldmake it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate againstpeople with pre-existing conditions.

“The Affordable Care Act is building a health insurance marketthat works for consumers,” Health and Human Services SecretaryKathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “Thanks to the health carelaw, no one will be discriminated against because of a pre-existingcondition.”

The administration on Tuesday also released details on“essential benefits” and employer-based wellness programs.

The new rules are one of the first steps the Health and HumanServices Department has taken in implementing some major provisionsthat are set to begin in 2014. The pre-existing provision is one ofthe most popular parts of President Obama's Patient and ProtectionAffordable Care Act.

The Obama administration issued the following information:

• A proposed rule that, beginning in 2014, prohibits healthinsurance companies from discriminating against individuals becauseof a pre-existing or chronic condition. Under the rule, insurancecompanies would be allowed to vary premiums within limits, onlybased on age, tobacco use, family size, and geography. Healthinsurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage toany American because of a pre-existing condition or from charginghigher premiums to certain enrollees because of their current orpast health problems, gender, occupation, and small employer sizeor industry. The rule would ensure that people for whom coveragewould otherwise be unaffordable, and young adults, have access to acatastrophic coverage plan in the individual market.

• A proposed rule outlining policies and standards for coverageof essential health benefits, while giving states more flexibilityto implement the Affordable Care Act. Essential health benefits area core set of benefits that would give consumers a consistent wayto compare health plans in the individual and small group markets.A companion letter on the flexibility in implementing the essentialhealth benefits in Medicaid was also sent to states.

• A proposed rule implementing and expanding employment-basedwellness programs to promote health and help control health carespending, while ensuring that individuals are protected from unfairunderwriting practices that could otherwise reduce benefits basedon health status.

This article was originally posted at BenefitsPro.com, a sister siteof Credit Union Times.