The Quality of Health Care
An Overview of Managed Care Liability: Implications for Patient Rights and Federal and State Reform
Research Report
Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, Health Law and Policy, The George Washington University Medical Center, School of Public Health Services
March 2001
As legislative debate over consumer protections under managed care continues, the central issue to emerge is the circumstances under which persons enrolled in managed care under ERISA-covered employer-sponsored health plans should be able to recover damages from companies for death and injury caused by substandard medical professional conduct. In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Brief, Sara Rosenbaum, the Harold and Jane Hirsch Professor of Law at the George Washington University Medical Center, provides a foundation for understanding the legal principles that govern the liability of managed care organizations for such injuries, and identifies the key issues that arise when considering the enactment of state legislation to establish expanded consumer rights against managed care plans for medical injuries. (23 pages)
Pub ID: 2001-06