Democrats and Republicans will soon debate whether a worker has the right to sue an employer when the worker has been wrongfully denied medical care. Democrats argue that employers should be held liable if they play a role in making medical decisions while Republicans claim that holding employers liable would only drive up the cost of health insurance and thus force companies to drop healthcare coverage. Currently, patients in federally regulated health plans can sue if they are denied healthcare but they can only recover the cost of treatment, not damages caused by the denial.
See "Patients’ Rights Debate Focuses on Employers", Brigitte Greenberg, The Washington Post, June 24, 2001