11.   The Bivens doctrine has been extended to permit suits against private employees who are performing government functions.

12.   The Ganske-Dingell-Norwood measure would permit suits in federal courts challenging managed care administrative decisions on who or what is covered.

13.   The law generally only permits suits by the first person to alert the government.

14.   They said the federal law only permits suits under the harder-to-prove gross negligence standard.

15.   Those suits are generally permitted when plaintiffs seek a court order to keep state officials from committing future violations of federal law.

16.   Under New Jersey law, however, those suits are permitted only if a child is born and then later dies because of pre-natal injuries.

17.   Under the agreement with Norwood, the House voted to permit suits to overturn denial of medical care to be filed in state courts.

18.   Existing state laws permitting state suits would be preserved.

19.   No class action suits would be permitted.