    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
    [Page 1315]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Letter to the Senate Democratic Leader on the Patients' Bill of Rights

    June 8, 2000

    Dear Mr. Leader:

        I am writing to express my strong support for your effort to give
    the Senate its first opportunity to vote for the bipartisan Norwood-
    Dingell Patients' Bill of Rights. It is long past time that the Congress
    acted to deliver real patient protections for all Americans in all
    health plans.
        It is my understanding that the members of the Senate/House
    Conference who support a strong, enforceable, Patients' Bill of Rights
    have reluctantly concluded that the likelihood of an acceptable bill
    emerging from the conference is remote. After 8 months of inaction since
    the House passed the Norwood-Dingell Bipartisan Consensus Managed Care
    Improvement Act, and with very few scheduled legislative days remaining,
    it is time for the Congress to act to pass this legislation and give
    Americans the patient protections they deserve.
        Congress has failed to pass this measure for years, and this delay
    has real consequences. According to a recent study, each day without a
    strong Patients' Bill of Rights results in harm to thousands of patients
    because insurance companies refused a patient a diagnostic test, a
    necessary procedure, or a referral to a specialist.
        It is my hope that the Senate will approve this legislation today
    and take the next important step toward the enactment of a strong,
    enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. I urge the Senate to put the
    interests of patients before those of the special interests and
    replicate last fall's bipartisan achievement by the House of
    Representatives.
         Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton

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