    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [June 12, 1999]
    [Page 930]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 930]]

    The President's Radio Address
    June 12, 1999

        Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about what I believe we
    must do to ensure that more American families have the high quality
    health care they need to thrive. Our medical care is the best in the
    world, and we must make sure our health care system is, too. We all know
    this system is rapidly changing. Already, more than half of all
    Americans are in managed care plans. On balance, I think managed care
    has been good for America, decreasing costs and increasing Americans'
    access to preventive care.
        But clearly, we must do more to make sure that when health care
    plans cut costs, they don't cut quality and that the bottom line never
    becomes more important than patients' needs. That's why more than a year
    and a half ago, I asked Congress to pass a strong, enforceable Patients'
    Bill of Rights that ensures critical protections for Americans in
    managed care, from the right to see a specialist to the right to
    emergency room care whenever and wherever you need it, to the right to
    hold health plans accountable for harmful decisions.
        Using my authority as President, I've already acted to make these
    rights real for 85 million Americans who get their health care through
    Federal plans, from Medicare and Medicaid to the Veterans Administration
    health plan that serves millions of veterans and their families.
        But until Congress acts, tens of millions of Americans in managed
    care are still waiting for the full protection of a Patients' Bill of
    Rights. Democrats in Congress have long been pressing to pass a strong,
    enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights, and nearly every doctors'
    association, every nurses' association, every patients' rights group in
    America agrees that we need it now.
        The Republican leadership in Congress has acknowledged that poor
    quality in managed care is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
    I'm pleased that Senate Majority Leader Lott said
    he would bring managed care reform legislation to a vote on the Senate
    floor early this summer. Unfortunately, the Republican leadership's
    legislation falls far short of providing American families the
    protections they need in a changing health care system.
        Because it only applies to some health plans, it leaves tens of
    millions of Americans without these guarantees. It doesn't ensure
    patients access to specialists, like oncologists and cardiologists. It
    doesn't prevent health plans from forcing patients to change doctors in
    mid-treatment. It doesn't provide adequate recourse when a health plan
    provides less than adequate care. And it does not make clear, once and
    for all, accountants should not be able to arbitrarily overturn medical
    decisions.
        A Patients' Bill of Rights that doesn't provide these important
    protections is a Patients' Bill of Rights in name only, and our people
    deserve better. Protecting our families should be an issue that brings
    us together. I've been encouraged that many Republicans have said they
    would work with Democrats to pass strong, enforceable managed care
    reform.
        Today I ask the congressional leadership to move the right kind of
    managed care reform to the very top of their agenda. After all, we all
    get sick; we all need health care. No one asks us what our party
    affiliation is when we show up at the emergency room or the doctor's
    office. This isn't a partisan issue anywhere else in America; it
    shouldn't be in Washington, DC. Let's hold an open, fair debate and pass
    a real Patients' Bill of Rights that will strengthen our health care
    system, strengthen our families, and strengthen our Nation for the 21st
    century.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 4:57 p.m. on June 10 in the Roosevelt
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 12. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    June 11 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.