FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Suzy DeFrancis (202) 973-3610
Todd Irons
(202) 973-2927
Health Benefits Coalition Statement on Patients’ Bill of Rights
Washington, DC, July 15, 1999 — The Health Benefits Coalition is encouraged that the Senate voted against putting health plans and the employers who sponsor them at risk of unlimited, costly lawsuits, and we urge the House to do the same.
At the same time, our coalition has serious problems with the bill that is expected to pass the Senate, due to our concerns about increased costs and decreased coverage. We will continue to vigorously oppose the mandates in that bill as well as any attempts to expand liability to health plans and the employers that sponsor them.
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The Health Benefits Coalition is a broad-based organization representing three million employers providing health care coverage to more than 100 million employees and families. The coalition believes affordable, quality health care is best achieved through broader coverage, choice and competition in the marketplace —not government mandates.
