[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 26 (Monday, July 2, 2001)]
[Page 963]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 23, 2001

    Good morning. Here in Washington, we are nearing some important 
decisions on the health of Americans. Congress will soon vote on a 
Patients' Bill of Rights to help patients get the treatment they deserve 
without delay or legal haggling. I want that bill to be strong and 
effective. A woman should be able to visit her gynecologist, and 
parents, their children's pediatrician, without going through a 
gatekeeper. A person should be able to see a specialist when he or she 
needs one and to get emergency treatment at the nearest emergency room.
    If an HMO denies the treatment you need, then you should have the 
right to an immediate, impartial appeal to a panel of doctors. If the 
panel rules in your favor, you should receive your treatment, period. If 
the HMO ignores the findings, you should be able to go to court. The 
system should not favor HMOs, and it should not favor trial lawyers; it 
should favor patients with quick action to make sure they get the 
treatment they need.
    Today I want to address another kind of protection that is needed in 
these times of accelerating medical progress. Just a few months ago 
scientists completed the mapping of the human genome. With this 
information comes enormous possibilities for doing good. Through a 
better understanding of the genetic codes, scientists might one day be 
able to cure and prevent countless diseases.
    As with any other power, however, this knowledge of the code of life 
has the potential to be abused. Employers could be tempted to deny a job 
based on a person's genetic profile. Insurance companies might use that 
information to deny an application for coverage or charge excessive 
premiums.
    Genetic discrimination is unfair to workers and their families. It 
is unjustified, among other reasons, because it involves little more 
than medical speculation. A genetic predisposition toward cancer or 
heart disease does not mean the condition will develop. To deny 
employment or insurance to a healthy person based only on a 
predisposition violates our country's belief in equal treatment and 
individual merit.
    In the past, other forms of discrimination have been used to 
withhold rights and opportunities that belong to all Americans. Just as 
we have addressed discrimination based on race, gender, and age, we must 
now prevent discrimination based on genetic information. My 
administration is working now to shape the legislation that will make 
genetic discrimination illegal.
    I look forward to working with Members of Congress to pass a law 
that is fair, reasonable, and consistent with existing discrimination 
statutes. We will all gain much from the continuing advances of genetic 
science. But those advances should never come at the cost of basic 
fairness and equality under law.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9 a.m. on June 21 in the Cabinet Room 
at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 23. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 22 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of the 
address.