The Ombuds Blog: Both Health Care Reform Bills Would Create Ombuds Program

November 03, 2009

Both Health Care Reform Bills Would Create Ombuds Program

Progressive blogger Jon Walker observes that both versions of the House and Senate health care reform legislation would create a new health care Ombudsman program to help people deal with insurance companies. In the Senate Finance Committee bill, people would only be allowed to seek help from the Ombuds if their internal appeals last more than three months, or they were facing a life-threatening situation. The House bill puts no restrictions on when a person could seek help from the Ombuds. (FireDogLake Blog; GovTrack Bill Status for S. 1796 and HR 3962. Hat tip to John Zinsser.)

Prior post: Classical Ombuds May Have Role in Health Care Reform.

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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November 03, 2009

Both Health Care Reform Bills Would Create Ombuds Program

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