Right Move on Patient's Rights

In an exciting and surprising display of compromise, Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.) has stepped over party lines to hammer out a compromise over a patients' bill of rights with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass). The McCain-Kennedy bill defines patients' rights for emergency care and treatment by specialists. But, most importantly, the bill also provides for a new patient's right to sue health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that do not provide adequate care.

Given the decreased control patients currently have over their own health care, the threat of litigation is a necessary means of ensuring the accountability of HMOs. Without sufficient legal recourse for improperly denied care, patients often find themselves at the mercy of insurance companies. The McCain-Kennedy bill would go a long way toward placing patients on more solid ground when dealing with their HMOs, permitting up to $5 million in punitive damages to be awarded in state courts. The threat of court intervention will promote integrity in an industry where it is most desperately needed.

Despite the clear need for reform and the bipartisan support the bill enjoys, President George W. Bush has attempted to stall the bill. Bush objects to the amount of punitive damages allowed by the bill--undermining his previous campaign promise to support a bipartisan solution to the problem of patients' rights. Bush has already persuaded Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) to withdraw his name from sponsorship of the bill in the House. Should Bush continue his efforts to stave off a plan that may well have the support of 60 senators, he will undermine his claim to govern as a uniter, not a divider.