Patients' Bill of Wrongs July 16, 1999 Help | Search:

When Washington politicians bow to the pressure of well-heeled insurance company lobbyists, working families lose out. Yesterday's vote by the Senate against a strong, comprehensive patient protection bill is just another example of elected "leaders" putting profits above people.

Working families across the country will soon realize just how thin the so-called protections passed by the Senate Republican leadership are. How can a law which excludes 100 million Americans, allows insurance companies to make critical medical decisions, exposes healthcare workers to retaliation from their employers when they speak out on behalf of a patient, and denies patients access to specialists and the right to participate in potentially life-saving clinical trials be labeled patient protection?

It's a shame that the majority of the Senate Republicans did not follow the leadership demonstrated by Senators John Chafee and Peter Fitzgerald in voting to support the real Patients' Bill of Rights instead of the weak, ineffective substitute which passed yesterday.

For information: Naomi Walker 202/637-5093