[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[March 17, 1999]
[Page 398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Proposed Patients' Rights Legislation
March 17, 1999

    Today the Congress is beginning its work on patients' rights 
legislation. This issue is critical to assuring Americans high quality 
health care in the 21st century, so I am pleased that we are moving 
forward.
    Unfortunately, the proposal by the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
Committee falls far short of the legislation the American people 
deserve. Because it applies patients' rights only to those in self-
insured plans, this proposal leaves 120 million Americans in insured and 
individual plans without the guarantee of critical protections. Millions 
of Americans should not be held hostage to the hope that their State 
might pass legislation providing these protections. In fact, while 
States have the authority to pass patient protections for these plans, 
not one has enacted all of these protections. That is why we need strong 
Federal legislation to ensure that all health plans provide patients 
these important rights.
    Even for those it does cover, the Chairman's proposal leaves out many of the most fundamental 
protections. For example, it does not have an adequate enforcement 
mechanism to ensure that patients are compensated when they are injured 
or die as a result of a health plan's decisions; it does not assure 
patients access to specialists, such as oncologists or heart 
specialists; and it leaves our continuity of care protections. That is 
why every major patient, doctor, and nurse advocacy organization has 
concluded that this proposal is simply inadequate.
    Today represents the first test of whether this new Congress is 
serious about providing Americans with a strong, enforceable Patients' 
Bill of Rights to assure high quality health care. I urge the Committee 
to do everything it can to pass this test and give Americans the health 
care protections they need.