(Circulation. 1999;99:1651-1652.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News |
Patient Protection
Health Reform on the Line
1 Circulation Newswriter
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Introduction |
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The next few months will see a shift in focus at the federal level. After months of White House scandal, the business of lawmaking begins again; and nothing promises more controversy than the proposed "patient bill of rights." An attempt to pass patient protection or patient rights bills last session fell to the majority's indifference, insurers' opposition, and the sudden shift in focus from the nation's business to that of the President.
To say that there is grassroots support for some kind of law that provides protection against the worst of decisions made by HMOs and the host of alphabet-named groups that mimic them minimizes the level of the public's concern. Every poll taken gives evidence that the public wants some kind of law; likewise, so do most organized medical groups. The question remains, however, as to whether the political will to tackle the issue exists.
In some cases, the decisions made by managed care organizations cost
lives. In others, they simply visit on patients the kind of hassle
factor that has faced their physicians for years. A woman with
pneumonia and laryngitis finds herself on interminable hold as she
tries to get an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat specialist
while her voice slowly fades away. A mother with a distraught child who
has an earache is told the earliest available appointment is next week.
The father who took his child to the emergency room late at night now
finds that the insurer will not pay because he