Small Businesses Warn Patients' Rights Means More Uninsured.
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"Even though they say you have to exhaust external review, at any point you can sue if you just allege harm. There's very little limits," Fletcher, who's also an MD in family practice, tells WebMD. He estimates that up to nine million people will lose coverage under the Senate version.
However, others dispute that number.
"The claims that it's going to lead to massive loss of insurance coverage are really overheated, provided that the bill contains, as all of them now do, solid protections for employers, who keep at arms length from being sued," Henry Aaron, PhD, a healthcare policy analyst from the Brookings Institution, tells WebMD.
He also points out that a Congressional Budget Office assessment of the Senate and the White House backed plans show that the Senate measure would only add 1.4% more to the total premium cost over five years.
"There are some who will be at the margin ... and if costs go up a little more, you can find some employers who will decide because of that additional little increase, they will drop it," says Aaron.

