Bipartisan Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 2001

The Bipartisan Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 2001 (S. 889) was designed to establish national standards for how health insurance companies and group health plans treat their members. The bill aimed to give patients more control over their healthcare by ensuring direct access to specialists, pediatricians, and obstetricians without needing a referral, and by requiring plans to cover emergency room visits without prior authorization.

For everyday citizens, the bill’s most significant impact would have been the creation of a formal process to challenge an insurance company's decision to deny or delay medical care. It proposed a system of internal and independent external reviews to resolve disputes and, in certain cases, would have allowed patients to sue their health plans in federal or state court for damages resulting from the denial of necessary treatment. Additionally, the bill sought to protect the doctor-patient relationship by prohibiting "gag clauses" that prevent physicians from discussing all available treatment options with their patients.