[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2960 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2960

To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
 to clarify the preemption of State law by such title with respect to 
   causes of action for damages for personal or financial injury or 
   wrongful death resulting from failures to provide benefits under 
     employee welfare benefit plans providing health care benefits.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 1997

 Mr. Norwood (for himself, Mr. Ganske, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Edwards, Mr. 
Paul, and Mr. Towns) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
            to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
 to clarify the preemption of State law by such title with respect to 
   causes of action for damages for personal or financial injury or 
   wrongful death resulting from failures to provide benefits under 
     employee welfare benefit plans providing health care benefits.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    The Act may be cited as the ``Responsibility in Managed Care Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. PRESERVATION AGAINST ERISA PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN STATE CAUSES 
              OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 514(b) of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1144(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new 
        paragraph:
    ``(9)(A) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any cause of action to 
recover damages for personal or financial injury or wrongful death 
against any person that provides insurance or administrative services 
to or for an employee welfare benefit plan maintained to provide health 
care benefits.
    ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any cause of action 
against an employer or other plan sponsor unless--
            ``(i) the employer or other plan sponsor exercised 
        discretionary authority to review and make decisions on claims 
        for plan benefits, and
            ``(ii) the exercise by such employer or other plan sponsor 
        of such authority resulted in personal or financial injury or 
        wrongful death.
    ``(C) A person that provides insurance or administrative services 
to or for an employee welfare benefit plan shall not have a right of 
recovery or indemnity against an employer or other plan sponsor for 
damages recovered pursuant to a cause of action referred to in 
subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to causes of action arising on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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