November 7, 2000
Letter to the Editor
Denver
Post
To the Editor:
Your November 5 editorial ("Another Win for Trial Lawyers")
neglected to mention that most Republicans, most Democrats and
a full 87 percent of Americans support the AMA-endorsed
Norwood-Dingell bill, a strong patients' bill of rights that
includes the right to hold health plans accountable when they
harm a patient.
Eighteen million Americans have had medical care delayed or
denied since the Norwood-Dingell bill passed the House of
Representatives in October of 1999. These are insured
individuals who are not getting the care they deserve because
the current leadership in Congress hasn't found the will to
stand up to insurers and tell them that patient care must come
before profits.
The AMA has consistently supported an independent, timely,
external appeals process as key to a strong patients' bill of
rights. The Norwood-Dingell bill, supported by the AMA and a
majority in the House and Senate, would allow a health plan to
require an independent review before the courts become
involved. Nothing would please us more than to have a
patients' bill of rights enacted and not have a single lawsuit
filed. Our goal is assure that patients get the care they need
and deserve when they need it – period.
It's unfortunate that health plans need the threat of legal
action to provide the care they've promised. But the truth is
that every entity in our society can be held legally
accountable when they harm another – every entity except HMOs.
You can sue your doctor, your dentist, your stockbroker, or
your hairdresser. But through a fluke interpretation of
current law, only HMOs have a special exemption from the
accountability the rest of us must accept. Even George W. Bush
knows this is wrong. Strong patients' rights legislation
holding HMOs accountable became law under his watch in Texas
-- where Bush has proudly proclaimed it a success.
You're right – we don't think patients should have to
settle for "half-a-loaf" when they've paid for a full loaf
with their health insurance premiums. We look forward to
working on a bipartisan basis to assure these strong, common
sense patient protections are signed into law as soon as
possible.
Randolph D. Smoak, Jr., MD
AMA
President