Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-4628
Sponsor: Rep. Dingell, John D. [D-MI-15]
Introduced: 2004-06-21 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Abortion
Access to health care
Accreditation (Medical care)
Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Ambulances
Breast cancer
Cancer
Case management
Charitable contributions
Child health
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Civil actions and liability
Clinical trials
Coinsurance
Collective bargaining
Commerce
Communication in medicine
Confidential communications
Conflict of interests
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer complaints
Consumer education
Cooperative societies
Corporation directors
Damages
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Labor
Directories
Discrimination in insurance
Discrimination in medical care
Donation of organs, tissues, etc.
Drugs
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Employee health benefits
Employers' liability
Evaluation research (Social action programs)
Evidence (Law)
Excise tax
Families
Federal employees
Federal preemption
Federal-state relations
Fees
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Foundations
Freedom of speech
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Government employees' health insurance
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Grievance procedures
Gynecology
Health insurance
Health insurance continuation
Health maintenance organizations
Health planning
Hospital care
Housing and Community Development
Humans
Income tax
Injunctions
Insurance premiums
Labeling
Labor and Employment
Labor contracts
Law
Legal fees
Liability (Law)
Licenses
Limitation of actions
Living wills
Managed care
Mastectomy
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medical ethics
Medical malpractice
Medical records
Medical screening
Medical supplies
Medical tests
Medically uninsured
Medicare
Minorities
Minority health
Nonprofit organizations
Obstetrics
Old age, survivors and disability insurance
Patient satisfaction
Patients' rights
Peer review organizations (Medicine)
Performance measurement
Pharmacists
Physician-patient privilege
Physicians
Pregnant women
Prescription pricing
Preventive medicine
Punitive damages
Quality of care
Reinsurance
Restrictive trade practices
Right of privacy
Rural health
Salaries
Science, Technology, Communications
Small business
Social Welfare
Social security finance
Standards
State laws
Subsidies
Surgery
Tax credits
Tax penalties
Taxation
Telephone
Terminal care
Terminally ill
Translating and interpreting
Transportation and Public Works
Welfare recipients
Whistle blowing
Women
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: 
Patient Bill of Rights Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to apply patient protection and quality care standards to group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage. Applies such standards also to Federal health insurance programs.
 
Requires such plans and issuers to have approved utilization review programs, claims procedures, and appeal procedures concerning claims denials.
 
Requires patient access to health plan information and to care, including: (1) a consumer choice option and choice of health care professional; (2) emergency care; (3) timely access to specialists; (4) obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics; (5) care continuity; (6) prescription drugs; (7) participation in clinical trials; and (8) breast cancer treatment hospital stays and consultations.
 
Restricts interference by a plan or insurer with the doctor-patient relationship. Prohibits discrimination against a licensed health care professional with respect to participation or indemnification. Sets forth requirements relating to payment of claims and protection of patient advocacy.
 
 Provides a tax credit for the health insurance expenses of small businesses. Treats qualified health benefit purchasing distributions by private foundations as distributions for a charitable purpose. 
 
Establishes demonstration grants programs to: (1) increase access to health insurance through alternative means; and (2) provide health insurance information to small employers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-09-07
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
action_date: 2004-07-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-06-21
text: Introduced in House