Right to a Second Medical Opinion Act of 2009
Latest action · Oct 22, 2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 18, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Right to a Second Medical Opinion Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require a group health plan to provide coverage for a second opinion requested by a participant or beneficiary or a health care practitioner if certain conditions are met, including that the medical condition threatens loss of life, quality of life, loss of limb, loss of bodily function, loss of cognitive function, or substantial impairment of the mind or body.
Directs that the financial responsibility of the participant or beneficiary for a second opinion shall be the same as that for comparable services furnished by a participating physician in connection with an initial opinion.
Sets forth provisions governing a health plan: (1) limiting coverage of a second opinion to a participating physician; (2) requiring preapproval for a second opinion; and (3) denying coverage or denying preapproval for a second opinion.
Allows a plan to condition payment for a second opinion on the physician providing a consultation report to the health care practitioner making the initial opinion.
Requires plans to provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) a timeline for providing reimbursement of claims for second opinions and for responding to requests for preapproval of second opinions.
Applies the provisions of this Act to individual health insurance coverage.
Cosponsors 4
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on May 18, 2009.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Original | May 18, 2009 |
| D-IL | Phil Hare | Original | May 18, 2009 |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Original | May 18, 2009 |
| R-MI | Thaddeus G. McCotter | Original | May 18, 2009 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred May 18, 2009 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred May 19, 2009 | |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred May 18, 2009 |
| Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee | Referred Oct 22, 2009 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred May 18, 2009 |
Actions 8
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 22, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
- May 19, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- May 18, 2009Introduced in House
- May 18, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1182)
- May 18, 2009Referred to House Energy and Commerce
- May 18, 2009Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- May 18, 2009Referred to House Education and Labor
- May 18, 2009Referred to House Ways and Means
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1182 | Susan A. Davis D-CA | May 18, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require that group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage provide coverage for second opinions.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Right to a Second Medical Opinion Act of 2009
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 18, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
