For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 7, 2001
Text of a Letter from the President to the House and Senate Democratic Leaders
February 7, 2001
Dear Leader:
I am writing to discuss our shared goal of passing a strong Patients'
Bill of Rights. Over the last two weeks my staff and I have
met with Members of Congress from both parties, and I believe that we
have an opportunity to work together to enact legislation this year to
address this important issue. I am writing to ask for your
support, and for the support of all Members of Congress, for a
bipartisan Patients' Bill of Rights to provide all Americans with
protections in managed care.
As Governor of Texas, I worked with Democrats and Republicans to enact
some of the strongest patient protection laws in this
country. My goal now in seeking Federal legislation is
simple: I want to ensure that all patients receive needed medical care
and that doctors are allowed to make medical decisions.
To achieve these goals, patients should have the right to an
independent medical review of a health plan's decision to deny
care. This review should be conducted by medical experts
outside the health plan and must be binding on the health
plan. I also believe that, following an independent medical
review of a health plan's decision to deny care, patients who have been
wrongly denied medical care should be allowed to hold their health
plans liable in Federal court.
I cannot support a plan, however, that encourages unnecessary or
frivolous litigation. Expensive litigation, and the
resulting rise in health care costs, would only make it more difficult
for Americans to afford health care coverage in the first
place. I believe it is possible to provide patients a
meaningful remedy when they have been wrongly denied care, without
causing other Americans to lose coverage. A responsible
remedy for patients should protect employers from the high costs of
being subject to multiple causes of action in multiple venues and
should provide a reasonable cap on damages.
I have enclosed the principles by which I will gauge any piece of
Federal legislation. I do not believe that any bill
currently before the Congress meets all of these
principles. How-ever, I applaud the efforts of Members on
both sides of the aisle who have stepped forward to address this
issue. I believe we can work together to reach bipartisan agreement
this year on a strong Patients' Bill of Rights that protects all
Americans, does not override the patient protections already adopted by
States, and avoids costly litigation.
I look forward to working with you and all Members of Congress to enact
these principles into law as soon as possible. I also look
forward to working with you to provide access to health care for the
millions of Americans without health insurance.
Sincerely,
GEORGE
W. BUSH
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