limits it had created for other health care entities would apply until it enacted such limits. [S 1052, 6/28/01, Vote 207] XXXX Voted For A Loophole to Exempt Health Plans from Liability. In 2001, XXXX voted against the motion to table a Republican amendment which would have forced some workers to either: (1) choose a good health care plan and agree that their employer cannot be held accountable even when the employer is involved in medical decisions, or (2) choose a bad health care plan where they could hold their employer responsible for medical decisions, or (3) accept incentives, such as money, to not sign up for a health care plan at all. [S 1052, 6/28/2001, Vote 206] XXXX Voted to Hold Designated Decision Makers Liable For Plan Decisions. In 2001, XXXX voted for an amendment under which an employer could have a designated decision maker (DDM) that would assume liability for plan decisions, including any liability for actions taken by the employer. The amendment would also strike the catch-all causes of action that this bill will allow to be brought in Federal and State courts against employers or DDMs, as the case may be, for failing "to exercise ordinary care in the performance of a duty" (for Federal suits) or "to otherwise perform a duty under the terms and conditions of the plan with respect to a claim for benefits of a participant or beneficiary" (for State suits). [S 1052, 6/28/01, Vote 205] XXXX Supported Capping Fees for Personal Injury Lawyers. In 2001, XXXX voted against the motion to table an amendment to cap attorney fees in medical malpractice cases in which a plaintiff is awarded more than $100,000 at 15 percent or less of the total amount awarded, which would discourage lawyers from taking on these cases. [S 1052, 6/28/01, Vote 204] XXXX Voted To Defer To State Laws That “Substantially Comply” With Patient Protections. In 2001, XXXX voted against an amendment that would amend the bill to provide that if a State were to have a mandate that "substantially complies" with one of the mandated benefits in the bill, then its mandate would not be superseded by the bill mandate. (The bill would supersede a State mandate unless it were "substantially equivalent" to a bill mandate; the Collins amendment proposed a "consistent with" standard). [S 1052, 6/28/01, Vote 203] XXXX Voted to Gut the PBOR and Allow States to Use Weaker Protections. In 2001, XXXX voted against the motion to table an amendment “that would have allowed states wide latitude to opt out of the federal regulations” on patient protections “for workers who are covered by state laws, leaving millions uncovered, according to critics of the proposal.” This amendment would have allowed states with weaker patient protections than the federal law to opt of the federal law. [S 1052, 6/28/01, Vote 202; The Washington Post, 06/29/01] XXXX Voted For A GOP Amendment That Would Prevent Medical Reviewers From Ignoring Contract Terms. In 2001, XXXX voted for an amendment that would make clear that a medical reviewer could not require a health plan to provide coverage for items or services that were specifically excluded or expressly limited and disclosed in the health care plan's terms, regardless of any determination relating to medical necessity and appropriateness, experimental or investigational nature of the treatment, or an evaluation of the medical facts involved. The motion to table was agreed to, 54-45. [S 1052, 6/27/01, Vote 200] XXXX Voted For A GOP Amendment To Exempt Small Businesses From Health Care Liability. In 2001, XXXX voted for an amendment that would give small businesses (businesses with 50 or fewer employees) that purchased health care coverage for their employees liability from actions they take as fiduciaries, trustees, or plan administrators (this exemption from lawsuits would be equivalent to the protection the bill will give to doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers for their actions in relation to health care plan decisions). The exemption would not apply to the HMOs or other plan agencies hired by the small businesses to provide insurance. The amendment was rejected, 45-53. [S 1052, 6/27/01, Vote 199] XXXX Voted To Repeal Patient Protections If Reports Find That They Cause People To Lose Coverage. In 2001, XXXX voted for an amendment that would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences to prepare and submit 5 annual reports, starting 2 years after the date of enactment, on the Act's impact on the number of individuals in the United States with health 44