United States Senate

Dear Mr. Lang:

Thank you for contacting me to inform me about the class action lawsuit forming in regard to disability insurance coverage. It is an honor to serve you in the Senate, and a privilege to respond to your concerns.

I reviewed the web address that you included in your e-mail, and I was discouraged by the many problems individuals have encountered with their insurance coverage. As you may know, the Senate is currently considering legislation geared toward reforming the health insurance industry.

Recently, I introduced S. 2330, the Patients' Bill of Rights, which is a comprehensive health care reform bill which seeks to return health care decisions back to doctors and patients and takes them out of the hands of Washington bureaucrats, managed health care providers, and Congress. This bill focuses on three primary objectives: 1) it establishes a Patients' Bill of Rights; 2) it seeks to improve quality; and 3) it provides choice in the health care system.

The Patients' Bill of Rights offers protection for patients and ensures them full access to information about their health plan; makes sure patients receive necessary emergency care; allows patients to keep their doctor during a pregnancy or extended illness, even if their doctor is dropped by their plan; and provides a process for reporting grievances, in appealing both internally and externally to independent medical experts when a plan may deny coverage for necessary medical action. This critical measure of S. 2330 holds health plans accountable for the coverage decisions they make and takes the power of denial of care out of the hands of HMOs and places it in the hands of independent medical experts. I have enclosed a summary of the bill for your review. I hope you will find this information helpful.

In addition, I recently introduced S.2208, the Healthcare Quality Enhancement Act, which establishes an Agency for Healthcare Quality Research to focus on the overall improvement in health care and enable patients to better judge the quality of care they receive. It builds on the current Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research as its platform, but re-focuses that agency on quality, articulating a clear mission, to become the central figure in our efforts to improve the quality of health care. This bill is included in the broader Patients' Bill of Rights.

Thank you again for bringing this matter to my attention. I am hopeful that the grievance appeals measures included in S. 2330 will prove helpful to those who have legitimate claims against insurance companies. Please continue to let me know how I may better serve you.