Roth Statement on Patients' Bill of Rights
WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) today released the following statement on the Patients' Bill of Rights:
"Mr. President, health care in America is the envy of the world. We have the finest doctors, nurses, and medical care personnel available anywhere. We have the best research facilities and the most advanced -- state-of-the-art -- technology. We are the world's leader in providing new and effective treatments and therapies. And it doesn't seem that a day goes by without news of some exciting breakthrough in medicine and health.
"While this is the good news, there's no question that our health care delivery system also faces some serious challenges. No one argues that there isn't cause for concern when it comes to making high quality health care more affordable, and therefore more accessible, to millions of Americans who currently have no coverage, and for those who may even have coverage, but who are receiving substandard and even poor care.
"For the last fifteen years, Congress has been concerned about the skyrocketing costs associated with health care. I remember the dire predictions we listened to in the 1980s and early 1990s. I recall the testimony of OMB Director Dick Darman in 1992, when he warned that given its current rate of increase, total public and private health spending was quickly taking over the Gross National Product. Unless something was done, he said, expenditures -- which were less than six percent of GNP three decades earlier -- would reach the unmaintainable level of 26 percent of GNP by the year 2030.
"One of the innovative answers to curb this dangerous increase was the advent of managed care and the creation of Health Maintenance Organizations. Through this system, millions of Americans found access to health care that was affordable. Small businesses were better able to provide insurance for their employees. And competition between HMOs and other health care providers in the miraculous free market system worked to reduce the exploding costs of coverage.
"At the same time, it allowed those incentives to work that were continuing to promote new research and development, new therapies and technology, and the daily breakthroughs I mentioned earlier.
"Was everything perfect? No. Questions and concerns -- very relevant questions and concerns -- soon surfaced regarding the quality of care delivered by some of the providers participating in the managed care system.
"But just as valid as these concerns was the fact that through managed care, millions of satisfied Americans were receiving high quality services that may have, otherwise, been unavailable to them. And because of the influence that managed care was having on the delivery of health care in America, free market principles were continuing to reward innovation and quality, while at the same time creating a new dimension of competition to help control costs.
"With this background, we see more clearly the dynamics involved in the issue before us today. As we look to address the need of establishing a patients' bill of rights -- and, again, the need is very real -- we see clearly how the improvements we incorporate in such a bill of rights must protect Americans and improve the quality of the health care they are receiving while, at the same time, not undermine the strengths of the current system.
"This is a delicate balance -- one that was of primary importance to the task force that I served on with several of my colleagues. Together, we listened to dozens of experts and consumer representatives. We collected and reviewed reams of information. We reviewed countless areas that might be addressed and looked at countless possibilities for legislative action. There was no question that managed care could be improved. In fact, many providers from within managed care organizations agreed that there were improvements to be made, and it became clear by the evidence we reviewed that a bill of rights is warranted.
"Our goal was simple: increase standards and the quality of health care delivered by providers, without excessively escalating costs that would make health care coverage less available to Americans who need it most. There is no question that any time costs go up, those who are most adversely affected are those who are least able to afford the increases.
"This not only includes the millions of American families that might not have access to health care without competitive managed care providers, but it also includes millions of Medicare beneficiaries who -- to receive extra coverage and benefits -- are participating in managed care programs.
"If attempts to improve the system go to the extreme -- opening up, and even encouraging, litigation, or increasing government intervention and regulation, or holding small businesses that provide health care coverage liable for the judgments made by physicians -- costs are going to explode; countless individuals and families are going to suffer the adverse consequences.
"On the other hand, if improvements focus on protecting the patient while strengthening the current system, then coverage can be expanded, quality can be assured, and even the most vulnerable will be protected. This, Mr. President, is our objective; it's what we intend to do with the Patients' Bill of Rights Act -- a well-studied and common sense approach to protecting Americans, while at the same time improving our health care delivery system.
"Our legislation not only targets specific problems in the current system, but it will make health care more affordable, more accessible, and give consumers greater choice concerning their own care.
"This is accomplished in several ways.
"First, this legislation will guarantee patients a more thorough due process than they currently receive when they are denied a benefit by their health plan. This includes an external review by an independent medical expert to determine if a health plan has unfairly denied a benefit.
"In urgent cases, this review must be completed within 72 hours. This provision is so important because it will ensure that patients get the benefits they are entitled to, when they need those benefits most.
"If, for some reason, the safety net of an independent external review process fails, our plan preserves an individual's right to sue his or her health plan in Federal court for all benefit denials. The individual can also sue in State court for malpractice claims.
"Beyond this, our legislation increases the choices that are made available to patients by requiring health plans that contract with businesses of 51 or more employees to offer participants the opportunity to receive health care services from out-of-network providers. In this way, consumers will be able to choose providers that best suit their needs.
"Outside of encouraging greater choice, our plan effectively increases access to health insurance by making coverage for self-employed Americans 100 percent tax deductible, starting next January.
"This is a provision that is long overdue. Self-employed individuals have unfairly been limited in the amount of money they can deduct from their taxes for health care coverage, while businesses and corporations have been able to deduct all the health care benefits they provided their employees. This provision will not only help restore equity, but it will benefit 25 million Americans who are in families headed by a self-insured individual -- five million of whom are currently uninsured.
"This legislation will require patients to be fully informed concerning their coverage, including cost-sharing requirements, supplemental benefits, out-of-area coverage, options for selecting primary health care providers, access to emergency care, and preventative services. In other words, no more surprises. And this legislation also gives patients the right to request and be given information concerning their plan's administrative details. For example, providers will be required to answer their customers' queries into the licensure and qualifications of the professionals who participate in the providers' plans.
"They will be required to provide relevant information concerning participating health care facilities and reimbursement methods between the plan and its participating professionals, as well as the status of the plan with accrediting organizations. Likewise, consumers can request information about medications that are included in the plan and procedures to obtain medications that may not be a part of the program.
"All of these provisions are fundamentally important to the rights that patients should have when dealing with their health care providers. But as you can see, Mr. President, they are constructed and included in this legislation in a way that the benefits are received without adversely influencing accessibility and affordability. In fact, as I have shown, accessibility and affordability will actually increase with this Patients' Bill of Rights Plus Act.
"But the benefits of this plan do not stop there.
"The Patients' Bill of Rights Plus Act includes important prohibitions against gag rules that some health plans use to limit communication between doctors and patients. This legislation will prohibit health plans from restricting their doctors from sharing information and discussing treatment options with their patients.
"This legislation will also allow patients to have direct access to obstetricians, gynecologists, and pediatricians for routine care without referrals.
"And it includes important measures to protect sensitive patient information. It prohibits the use of genetic information to deny health care coverage or to set premium rates. And it enhances the role of the Agency for Health Care Quality Research to continue the important effort of improving the system for the long-term.
"These, too, are important, but perhaps the provisions in this legislation with which I am most pleased are those that will advance research, prevention and treatment for women with cancer and cardiovascular disease.
"These provisions will expand basic and clinical research, specifically for women, on the underlying causes and prevention of these diseases. Beyond this, the Patients' Bill of Rights Plus Act will fund extended research related to osteoporosis and women's geriatric concerns. And it will support continued data collection through the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Program of Cancer Registries -- two leading women's health data centers.
"Mr. President, I don't think there's anyone here who can argue with the important measures contained in this bill.
"It is, indeed, comprehensive. At the same time, it's balanced and constructive. It's the kind of effective leadership Americans expect from Congress -- making access to health care easier, not harder, for individuals and small businesses.
"It allows the incentives that make our health care system the envy of the world to continue, while it includes new incentives for providers to offer better quality, greater efficiency, and to be more responsive to their customers.
"While addressing the short-comings of the current system, this legislation builds on what is good -- what is working -- in the current system. It expands the real rights of patients and provides for continued research and development in areas that are vitally important to America's changing demographics.
"For these important reasons, I encourage all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this Patients' Bill of Rights Plus Act. It is not only comprehensive and very workable, it is constructive and necessary."
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