Patients' Rights Given Short Shrift In Health Reform Bills

Patients' rights are getting short shrift in the health reform bills pending in Congress reports the Los Angeles Times, "Healthcare Bills Lack Protections Against Treatment Denials, Experts Say."  While the proposed legislation will require coverage of all persons, including those with pre-existing illness, that mandate will create incentives for insurance companies to deny coverage for treatments, thus establishing the illusion of insurance coverage.  Persons who obtain their medical insurance through employement and thus be subject to ERISA will have little practical legal recourse from such denials.  Remedies for treatment denials under ERISA are almost always limited to the cost of the denied treatment, which is practically nothing if death results from the treatment denial.