The American health care system is complicated and radically different from health care systems in other countries, and a knowledge of your rights as a patient is essential to receiving proper care. The ALC has compiled a list of the rights to which a patient is entitled as well as a list of useful questions to ask insurance providers.

Health insurance is a vital resource. When investing in a health insurance plan, cost should be secondary. First, pick a plan which serves the specific needs of you and your family. Only then, should you consider the cost. More expensive plans generally give you more choices (i.e. more costly plans usually give you the freedom to seek treatment from specialists outside the insurance plan with guaranteed cost coverage). Questions to ask prospective insurance providers:

Does this plan cover the cost of:

  • Medical care or a specialist? Can I seek the help of a physician outside the plan if he or she is a specialist and still have my payments covered?
  • Seeking the opinion of a second physician? If not, how much more would this cost?
  • Emergency Room visits? Ambulance service?
  • Home or hospital hospice care for the terminally ill? What other medical costs does this plan cover for the terminally ill?
  • Prescription drugs and treatments I need? If not, how much would I have to pay for my drugs and treatments? Do you have a co-payment policy? If so, what are the details of this payment policy?
  • Cancer screening? If I am diagnosed with liver cancer, does this plan cover the costs of a liver transplant?

In the clinics, hospitals, and medical settings of the state of California, all patients are entitled to exercise these rights without regard to your gender; ethnicity, social, economic, educational, or religious background; or the source of payment for medical care. You have the right to:

  • Receive considerate and respectful care.
  • Know about your illness and prospects for your recovery in terms you can understand, even if this means asking for a translator.
  • Know all the possible treatments and associated risks so you can give fully informed consent to or refusal of recommended treatments.
  • Disagree with and refuse suggested treatments.
  • Expect privacy of information regarding your health treatments. These confidential medical files cannot be read without your permission except as provided by law.
  • Leave the clinic or treatment against the advice of your physician at your own risk.
  • Know which treatments are experimental and to refuse to participate in experimental projects.
  • Be informed of your continuing treatment plan and possible outcomes.


Last Updated: February 1, 2008