On the recordFebruary 1, 2000
I have always believed that any entity, whether a doctor, a health plan or a business, that makes decisions on medical necessity must be held responsible for those decisions. Moreover, I find it reprehensible that there are those who would promote the argument that an entity should be able to wrongfully cause the death of a patient and be shielded from legal responsibility. Currently, doctors are held responsible for the medical decisions they make, but health plans and even employers can dodge such responsibility through the ERISA preemption clause. Recognizing that plan sponsors and some employers do make these decisions, the Norwood-Dingell-Ganske bill, the Bipartisan Consensus Managed Care Improvement Act of 1999, erases this unintended shield by making those plans responsible for any decision they make regarding medical necessity.
Source
govinfo.gov
