Representatives Pat Ryan and Angie Craig introduced their new bill to hold health insurance companies accountable for above-average denial rates and refund patients for medical payments that should have been covered by insurance. The Patient Refunds for Bad Denials Act would create financial penalties for health insurers that deny more than 25% of claims in a given year ... These penalties would be paid back to affected enrollees.
Patrick Ryan will champion legislation to penalize health insurers that deny more than 25% of claims and refund the penalties directly to affected patients.
Occurrences
Evidence
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GovInfo bill text lists H.R. 8442 as introduced by Ms. Craig for herself and Mr. Ryan on April 22, 2026. It creates civil monetary penalties for insurers with claims denial percentages of 25 percent or greater and directs the Secretary to distribute collected penalty amounts pro rata to enrolled individuals.
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Ryan's office announced that Pat Ryan and Angie Craig introduced the Patient Refunds for Bad Denials Act, describing penalties for insurers that deny more than 25% of claims per year and saying the penalties would be paid directly back to affected patients.
Assessments
The promise was to champion legislation, not necessarily secure enactment. During Ryan's current House term, he was announced as introducing the Patient Refunds for Bad Denials Act with Rep. Angie Craig, and official bill text lists Ryan as an original cosponsor. The bill directly matches the promised mechanism: penalties for health insurers with denial rates of 25% or greater and distribution of collected penalties back to affected enrollees. That is enough to count the campaign commitment as delivered in the same term.