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When it comes to quality, affordable health care, working families and their doctors need to be guaranteed a say in their health care and an equal footing with big HMOs and powerful insurance companies. Medical decisions must be made by working families and their physicians—not insurance companies and HMO bureaucrats. A strong and comprehensive Patients’ Bill of Rights will do that.

  • A strong Patients’ Bill of Rights would protect all 161 million Americans in private health plans and not limit its protection to certain groups as some proposals do.
  • A strong Patients’ Bill of Rights would allow health care consumers a voice when they disagree with a health plan’s decision.
  • A strong Patients’ Bill of Rights would protect health care workers from retaliation by their employers when they speak out for quality patient care.
  • A strong Patients’ Bill of Rights would allow doctors to provide a full diagnosis and recommend specialists to treat curable diseases without the disincentives many managed-care plans and insurance companies currently use.
  • A strong Patients’ Bill of Rights would ensure that working families have access to emergency room care, prescription drugs and clinical trials.
  • A strong Patients’ Bill of Rights would protect working families by letting doctors—not insurance companies—practice medicine.  

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