For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 23, 2001
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
The Oval Office
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THE PRESIDENT: Good
morning. Here in Washington, we are nearing some important
decisions on the health of Americans. Congress will soon
vote on a patients' bill of rights, to help patients get the treatment
they deserve without delay or legal haggling. I want that
bill to be strong and effective. A woman should be able to
visit her gynecologist, and parents their children's pediatrician,
without going through a gatekeeper. A person should be able
to see a specialist when he or she needs one, and to get emergency
treatment at the nearest emergency room.
If an HMO denies the treatment you need, then
you should have the right to an immediate, impartial appeal to a panel
of doctors. If the panel rules in your favor, you should
receive your treatment, period. If the HMO ignores the
findings, you should be able to go to court. The system
should not favor HMOs, and it should not favor trial
lawyers. It should favor patients, with quick action to make
sure they get the treatment they need.
Today I want to address another kind of
protection that is needed in these times of accelerating medical
progress. Just a few months ago, scientists completed the
mapping of the human genome. With this information comes
enormous possibilities for doing good. Through a better
understanding of the genetic codes, scientists might one day be able to
cure and prevent countless diseases.
As with any other power, however, this
knowledge of the code of life has the potential to be
abused. Employers could be tempted to deny a job based on a
person's genetic profile. Insurance companies might use that
information to deny an application for coverage, or charge excessive
premiums.
Genetic discrimination is unfair to workers
and their families. It is unjustified -- among other
reasons, because it involves little more than medical
speculation. A genetic predisposition toward cancer or heart
disease does not mean the condition will develop. To deny
employment or insurance to a healthy person based only on a
predisposition violates our country's belief in equal treatment and
individual merit.
In the past, other forms of discrimination
have been used to withhold rights and opportunities that belong to all
Americans. Just as we have addressed discrimination based on
race, gender and age, we must now prevent discrimination based on
genetic information.
My administration is working now to shape the
legislation that will make genetic discrimination illegal. I
look forward to working with members of Congress to pass a law that is
fair, reasonable, and consistent with existing discrimination
statutes. We will all gain much from the continuing advances
in genetic science. But those advances should never come at
the cost of basic fairness and equality under law.
Thank you for listening.
END
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