June 29, 2000
At a news conference this afternoon, the
AMA announced a national "call to action" for patients and
physicians to tell their senators to pass a meaningful
patients' bill of rights. Standing outside of the Capitol
flanked by Rep. Greg Ganske (R, Iowa) and Rep. Charles Norwood
(R, Ga.), AMA Board Chair D.
Ted Lewers, MD, said, "It takes four years to go through
medical school, but it's taking Congress more than six years
to pass a real patients' bill of rights. Time is running out."
Later in the day, Sen. Don Nickles (R, Okla.) put forward a
new patients' bill of rights proposal in the the Senate, which
the AMA quickly rejected as a "sham."
Read
release about the news conference
Read
Dr. Lewers' remarks
Read
release about the Nickles' proposal
Read
related stories