Home |  Elder Rights |  Health |  Pension Watch |  Rural Aging |  Armed Conflict |  Aging Watch at the UN  

Mission  |  Contact Us  |  Internships  |  Donate Now!  

back

House Passage of Patients' Rights Bill Likely

By: The Associated Press
New York Times, August 2, 2001

President Bush and congressional Republicans celebrated their freshly minted compromise on patients' rights legislation on Thursday as GOP leaders eagerly steered the bill toward a quick vote in the House.

``Get it done,'' Bush encouraged fellow Republicans as he joined Vice President Dick Cheney and the GOP rank-and-file in the Capitol.
Democrats vigorously attacked the bill as failing to offer patients enough leeway to sue HMOs -- and win monetary damages -- to enforce the new rights they would receive.

``This is not a patient bill of rights. This is an HMO and health insurance companies' bill of rights,'' said House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt. His voice rising and his face growing red, he added, ``In the name of God ... vote against this bill.''

``We have a chance to end six years of gridlock,'' countered Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a reference to the pitched battles that former President Clinton and congressional Democrats waged with Republicans over the issue.

The developments unfolded in the wake of Bush's Oval Office agreement Wednesday with Georgia Rep. Charles Norwood, a leading Republican supporter of patients' rights legislation who had long aligned himself with Democrats on the issue. The president had threatened to veto their legislation, as well as the Senate-passed bill, arguing it would open the way to frivolous lawsuits that would drive up the cost of insurance and prompt some employers to drop or reduce coverage.

Despite their criticism, Democrats offered no prediction they would be able to defeat the measure in a vote scheduled for early evening. And Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who played an instrumental role in forging the agreement, said, ``I think by the time it comes to the floor, we'll be in good shape.''

Passage would set the stage for compromise talks involving the House, the Senate and Bush this fall -- negotiations that offer no guarantee of success. ``This is not the last word,'' said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

The Senate-passed measure that Bush has threatened to veto and the bill in the House are identical in terms of the patients' protections they provide.
All Americans with insurance would be guaranteed coverage for emergency room care and treatment by medical specialists as well as access to government-sponsored clinical trials. Patients denied coverage would be able to appeal the ruling to an outside, independent expert and would be guaranteed a timely verdict.
In addition, the House bill provides for full deductibility of health insurance costs for the self-employed and other tax breaks designed to expand access to insurance, although Democrats complained there was no money in the bill to pay for them.

The principal area of dispute concerns lawsuits: whether they could be filed in state or federal court and whether there would be limits on damages.

Under the GOP plan, most suits could be brought in state court, but under uniform federal rules. Suits against companies that administer and fund their own insurance plans would go to federal court. Suits would be permitted even in cases in which the outside expert rules in favor of the HMO -- but the patient would have a higher burden of proof.
Patients could sue for punitive damages only in cases in which an HMO had disobeyed an appeals board ruling, and even then they could not seek more than $1.5 million.

By contrast, most Democrats favor legislation that would allow lawsuits in state courts, where lawyers say they are more likely to prevail on their patients' behalf. Democrats also favor more generous damage limitations.
The developments unfolded rapidly after Bush's agreement Wednesday with Norwood.

Bush told reporters he intended to publicly thank Norwood for ``being realistic and reasonable. I'm going to thank the members who stayed up all last night writing the amendment and I'm going to, of course, urge the members to vote with the speaker and get it done,'' he said.

In daylong debate on the House floor, Republicans heaped praise on Norwood -- and defended him from criticism by Democrats who had worked closely with him for years.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., reading earlier glowing statements of praise, added sarcastically, ``That's yesterday. Today they'll have you think he's become Dr. Kevorkian,'' the suicide doctor.