For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 27, 2001
Statement by the President
The bipartisan proposal introduced today by Representatives Ernie
Fletcher, Collin Peterson, Nancy Johnson and Richard Burr along with
Speaker Hastert and the chairmen of the three committees with
jurisdiction, Chairmen Boehner, Tauzin and Thomas, makes progress in
our effort to provide patients with a strong and enforceable Patients'
Bill of Rights.
This proposal, like the legislation introduced by Senators Frist,
Breaux, and Jeffords, is another example of a Patients' Bill of Rights
that reflects the principles I laid out earlier this year. I am
encouraged that the bill introduced today brings us significantly
closer to enacting a good Patients' Bill of Rights.
This legislation provides strong patient protections to all Americans.
It ensures that patients have the right to an independent medical
review when they have been denied medical care, and it holds health
plans accountable by providing patients with meaningful, effective
remedies when they have been harmed by a denial or delay in receiving
such care.
I am committed to providing patients with expanded remedies to hold
their health plans accountable and believe we can do so while
protecting workers and their families from costly litigation that would
increase health care premiums and leave too many Americans without
health insurance. This legislation introduced today provides patients
with meaningful remedies while preserving uniformity and certainty for
employers who voluntarily offer health care benefits for millions of
Americans across the country.
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