Texas approves HMO liability law
Texas HMO Law
June 30, 1997
The Texas legislature has struck a blow at the defense managed care organizations have used for years against patient lawsuits over quality of care. Under new legislation, which Gov. George W. Bush has decided to let become law without his signature, Texas will become the first state that explicitly allows consumers to collect awards if they can show that their condition was made worse by the company’s decisions to deny, delay, or reduce treatments. (See State Health Watch, March 1997, p. 1.)
Elsewhere, New York Senate and Assembly sponsors reached agreement on legislation that would make insurers liable if decisions to delay or withhold care result in injury. Until recently, managed care organizations have argued successfully that the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts patient lawsuits alleging substandard care because they are merely administering an employee benefit plan.
Texas approves HMO liability law
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content
