Title: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to health care rights.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that everyone in the United States has certain rights with respect to health care, including affordable coverage, access to care, transparency and privacy, protection from discrimination, and culturally appropriate care.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 273 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 273

 Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to health care rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 9, 2019

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. 
 Shaheen, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Durbin, 
    Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Brown, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, Ms. Warren, Mr. Markey, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to health care rights.

    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that all people of the 
United States have the right--
            (1) to affordable health insurance coverage, including--
                    (A) the right of individuals with pre-existing 
                conditions to secure health insurance with the same 
                terms, benefits, and price as individuals who do not 
                have pre-existing conditions;
                    (B) the right to a comprehensive set of essential 
                health benefits in the individual and small group 
                markets;
                    (C) the right to stay on a parent's policy until 
                age 26 for young adults who meet certain requirements;
                    (D) the right to keep health coverage after getting 
                sick, even if the individual made an honest mistake on 
                his or her insurance application;
                    (E) the right to use an individual's own resources 
                to purchase and pay for treatment or services; and
                    (F) the right to a cap on the yearly deductibles 
                and other out-of-pocket costs an individual is required 
                to pay for covered services under a health insurance 
                plan;
            (2) to coverage and access to health care services, 
        including--
                    (A) the right to health insurance coverage 
                regardless of an individual's pre-existing medical 
                conditions or health status;
                    (B) the right to certain preventive screenings 
                without paying out-of-pocket fees or copayments;
                    (C) the right to health insurance that provides 
                value relative to the premium cost;
                    (D) the right to be held harmless from surprise 
                medical bills;
                    (E) the right to coverage of mental health and 
                substance abuse services with no annual or lifetime 
                limits (including behavioral health treatment, mental 
                and behavioral health inpatient services, substance use 
                disorder treatment);
                    (F) the right to mental health and substance abuse 
                benefits without financial, treatment, or care 
                management limitations that only apply to such 
                benefits;
                    (G) the right to access all smoking cessation 
                medications that are approved by the Food and Drug 
                Administration;
                    (H) the right to choose a provider, and to receive 
                an accurate list of all participating providers;
                    (I) the right to access doctors, specialists, and 
                hospitals;
                    (J) the right to emergency medical services 
                without--
                            (i) preauthorization for emergency 
                        services;
                            (ii) extra administrative hurdles for out-
                        of-network emergency services; or
                            (iii) higher cost-sharing for out-of-
                        network emergency services than in-network 
                        emergency services;
                    (K) the right to affordable medications;
                    (L) the right to physical, mental, and oral care;
                    (M) the right to a treatment plan from provider for 
                a complex or serious medical condition;
                    (N) the right to go directly to a women's health 
                care specialist (including obstetricians and 
                gynecologists) without a referral for routine and 
                preventive health care services;
                    (O) the right to a full scope of reproductive 
                health services, including contraceptive care, 
                pregnancy-related care, prenatal care, miscarriage 
                management, family planning services, abortion care, 
                labor and delivery services, and postnatal care;
                    (P) the right to breastfeeding support, counseling, 
                and equipment (including manual and electric pumping 
                equipment);
                    (Q) the right to prescription medications and 
                medical and surgical services related to gender 
                transition;
                    (R) the right to try investigational drugs;
                    (S) the right to a second medical opinion;
                    (T) the right to home care services;
                    (U) the right to a full scope of hospice and 
                palliative care, and end-of-life options; and
                    (V) the right of pediatric patients to a full scope 
                of services offered to adult patients;
            (3) to health information and records privacy;
            (4) to explanations of coverage decisions, including--
                    (A) the right to an explanation and appeal if a 
                plan denies payment for a medical treatment or service;
                    (B) the right to an internal appeal of payment 
                decisions of private health plans if the health plan 
                refuses to make a payment;
                    (C) the right to a review by an outside review, by 
                an independent organization; and
                    (D) the right to complain, through grievances 
                processes;
            (5) to transparency, including--
                    (A) the right to an easy-to-understand summary of 
                benefits and coverage;
                    (B) the right to at least 30 days' notice if an 
                insurer cancels coverage;
                    (C) the right to clear justification and 
                explanation for premium increases that are 
                unreasonable;
                    (D) the right to know how an enrollee's plan pays 
                its providers;
                    (E) the right to give informed consent and 
                understanding about medical conditions, risks and 
                benefits of treatment, and appropriate alternatives;
                    (F) the right to know how drug companies set drug 
                prices; and
                    (G) the right to know the amount of money pharmacy 
                benefit managers keep and the amount of savings from 
                pharmacy benefits managers that reach patients and 
                consumers;
            (6) to protection from discrimination, including on the 
        basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual 
        orientation and gender identity), age, disability, or 
        documentation status; and
            (7) to culturally appropriate care, including health care 
        services in a language that the patient understands and that is 
        culturally sensitive.
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