Topics in the News: Patient Rights
Ron Paul on Health Care
: Oct 21, 2007
Insurance companies & gov't make healthcare unaffordable
Q: You say that insurance companies and government programs have made health care simply unaffordable. You objected so strongly to Medicaid that, as a doctor, I'm told, you simply treated patients on your own, at your own expense.
A: Well, we've had managed care, now, for about 35 years. It's not working, and nobody's happy with it. The doctors aren't happy. The patients aren't happy. Nobody seems to be happy--except the corporations, the drug companies and the HMOs.
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Source: 2007 GOP primary debate in Orlando, Florida
Ron Paul on Health Care
: Oct 21, 2007
Socialized medicine won't work; nor managed care
You don't have to throw anybody out in the street, but long term you have move toward the marketplace. You cannot expect socialized medicine of the Hillary brand to work. And you can't expect the managed care system that we have today [to work, because
it] promotes and rewards the corporations. It's the drug companies & the HMOs & even the AMA that lobbies us for this managed care, and that's why the prices are high. It's only in medicine that technology has raised prices rather than lowering prices.
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Source: 2007 GOP primary debate in Orlando, Florida
Ron Paul on Health Care
: Sep 27, 2007
Managed care is expensive and hasn't worked
Q: What does your health care plan contain to address racial disparities in access to care?A: We've had managed care in this country since the early 1970s, and it hasn't worked well. It's very, very expensive, and it's the fault that we changed our
ERISA law and our tax laws that created this corporatism that runs medicine. Wall Street rakes off the profits. The patients are unhappy. The doctors are unhappy. And it's a monopoly now. Who lobbies us in Washington? The drug companies and the HMOs.
They come. And now what is the cry for? Socialized medicine. That's not the answer. We need to get the government out of the way. Inflation hits the middle class and the poor the most. Those are the people who are losing it. We don't have enough
competition. There's a doctor monopoly out there. We need alternative health care freely available to the people. They ought to be able to make their own choices and not controlled by the FDA preventing them to use some of the medications.
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Source: 2007 GOP Presidential Forum at Morgan State University
John Edwards on Crime
: Oct 5, 2004
Put more responsibility on the lawyers, not the victims
CHENEY: We need to cap non-economic damages, and we also think you need to limit the awards that the trial attorneys take out of all of this. Over 50 percent of the settlements go to the attorneys and for administrating overhead. EDWARDS: I'm proud of
the work I did on behalf of kids and families against big insurance companies, big drug companies and big HMOs. We do have too many lawsuits. And the reality is there's something that we can do about it. We want to put more responsibility on the lawyers
to require to have the case reviewed by independent experts to determine if the case is serious and meritorious before it can be filed; hold the lawyers responsible for that, certify that and hold the lawyer financially responsible if they don't do it;
have a three-strikes-and-you're-out rule so that a lawyer who files three of these cases without meeting this requirement loses their right to file these cases. That way we keep the cases out of the system that don't belong in the system.
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Source: [Xref Cheney] Edwards-Cheney debate: 2004 Vice Presidential
Dennis Kucinich on Health Care
: Jan 29, 2004
Not-for-profit system differs from Hillary's pro-HMO system
Q: Why is there so much resistance on the part of your colleagues to going to a single-payer system? Is it the Hillary factor? A: No. What Senator Clinton was proposing was really more HMOs, and the competition in the insurance industry caused so
many people in the insurance industry to be afraid of it. My proposal shifts the whole system into a not-for-profit system. It eliminates these corporate profits and stock options and executive salaries, the advertising, lobbying, marketing costs.
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Source: Democratic 2004 primary Debate in Greenville SC
Bill Richardson on Health Care
: Jan 20, 2004
Increase access to affordable health care
I have two defining goals in health-care reform: decrease the number of uninsured New Mexicans - and increase access to affordable health care for all. Health care is a shared responsibility of governments, employers and individuals and their families.
It will not be quick and it will not be easy, but we must have the best efforts of everybody involved in health care - from consumers to HMO executives - if we are to find ways to attain my goals of wider coverage and greater access.
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Source: State of the State speech to the New Mexico Legislature
John Edwards on Health Care
: Aug 6, 2003
Require health insurance for every child
Health Care for Every Child. Edwards proposes that for the first time in history, America should require health insurance for every child, with tax credits to help families with rising premiums.
He will take on insurance companies, drug companies, and HMOs to bring down health care costs for every American.
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Source: Real Solutions For America, campaign booklet by John Edwards
John Edwards on Health Care
: May 17, 2003
Bush works for big HMOs and big pharma; I stand up for you
We have to do something about the cost of health care in America, and in order to do it, we're going to have to overcome this culture in Washington that pushes against taking on big insurance companies, big HMOs, big pharmaceutical companies.
I have done it. I have fought them all of my life. It is what I have done since I've been in the US Senate. I have offered legislation to bring down the cost of prescription drugs for every single American.
The only reason that the efforts we have made in the Congress to bring down the cost of health care in America are not the law of the land, is because the president works for those people,
and we have got to put somebody in the White House who will stand up for you, will stand up against them, and will fight that culture in Washington, that prevents taking them on.
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Source: AFSCME union debate in Iowa
John Edwards on Health Care
: May 3, 2003
Health care crisis requires fighting big corporations
No one's talking about cost [of health care to people]. We can't deal with the health care crisis in America unless we have the backbone and courage to do what I have been doing my entire life: fighting against big corporations, pharmaceutical companies,
big insurance companies, big HMOs. The president works for those people. There's a culture in Washington that stands against taking them on.
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Source: Democratic Debate in Columbia SC
Mike Huckabee on Health Care
: Nov 1, 2002
Guaranteed medical care not government's responsibility
Indicate which principles you support regarding health issues. - Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
- Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into
managed care programs.
- Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
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Source: 2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test
Al Gore on Health Care
: Oct 17, 2000
Physicians, not HMO should make medical decisions
Q: Why are HMOs allowed to make medical decisions? GORE: I don’t feel good about that, and I think we ought to have a Patients’ Bill of Rights to take the medical decisions away from the HMOs and give them back to the doctors and the nurses. Doctors
are giving prescriptions, they’re recommending treatments and then their recommendations are being overruled by HMOs and insurance companies. That is unacceptable.
BUSH: I brought Republicans & Democrats together to do just that in the state of Texas.
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Source: St. Louis debate
Al Gore on Health Care
: Oct 17, 2000
Supports Dingell-Norwell Patient Bill of Rights
BUSH [to Gore]: It’s time for our nation to come together & do what’s right for the people. I support a national patients’ bill of rights. Q: Do you two agree on that?
GORE: Absolutely not. The Dingell-Norwood bill is the bipartisan bill that is now
pending in the Congress. The HMOs & the insurance companies support the other bill that’s pending, the one that Republican majority has put forward. [The Dingell-Norwood bill] is being blocked by the Republican leadership in the Congress. I specifically
would like to know whether Gov. Bush will support the Dingell-Norwood bill, which is the main one pending.
BUSH: I talked about the principles and the issues that I think are important in a patients’ bill of rights. Now, there’s this kind of
Washington, D.C., focus, well, it’s in this committee or it’s got this sponsor. If I’m the president, we’re going to have emergency room care [and the rest of] what I’ve done in Texas. And that’s the kind of leadership style I’ll bring to Washington.
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Source: (X-ref Bush) St. Louis debate
Al Gore on Health Care
: Oct 17, 2000
Patient Rights: power to doctors; right of appeal
I support a strong national patients’ bill of rights. What I think really needs to be accomplished is to give the decisions back to the doctors and nurses and to give a right of appeal to somebody other than
the HMO or insurance company, let you go the nearest emergency room without having to call an HMO before you call 911, to let you see a specialist if you need to.
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Source: St. Louis debate
Al Gore on Health Care
: Oct 11, 2000
Claims of Bush’s choices & benefits are underestimated
GORE: A married man, 70 years old, with income of $25,000 a year. under Bush’s plan, would not get one penny for four to five years.ANALYSIS: This is TRUE if the couple’s annual drug bill does not exceed $6,000. If it did, under Bush’s plan, the
government would pay the rest.
GORE: And after 4 to 5 years, they would be forced to go into an HMO or to an insurance company.
ANALYSIS: This is NOT TRUE. They would not be forced into an HMO or private plan-they could choose to remain in Medicare.
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Source: Presidential Debate, Boston Globe, “Number Crunch”, p. A15
Al Gore on Government Reform
: Oct 3, 2000
Use historic surplus to balance budget and help middle class
Q: What are the choices facing people in November?GORE: We’ve got the biggest surplus in history. Will we use that prosperity wisely in a way that benefits all of our people and doesn’t go just to the few? I think we have to invest in education,
protecting the environment, health care, a prescription drug benefit that goes to all seniors, not just to the poor; under Medicare, not relying on HMOs and insurance companies. I think that we have to help parents and strengthen families. I think we
have got to have welfare reform taken to the next stage. I think that we have got to balance the budget every single year.
BUSH: He’s going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Johnson in 1965. We’re talking about a massive
government, folks. We’re talking about adding to or increasing 200 new programs, 20,000 new bureaucrats. Imagine how many IRS agents it’s going to take to be able to figure out his targeted tax cut for the middle class that excludes 50 million Americans.
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Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA
Al Gore on Health Care
: Oct 3, 2000
Medicare Rx plan: you choose, Medicare pays
GORE: Under the Medicare prescription drug proposal I’m making, here’s how it works: You go to your own doctor and your doctor chooses your prescription, and no HMO or insurance company can take those choices away from you. Then you go to your
own pharmacy, you fill the prescription and Medicare pays half the cost. If you’re in a very poor family or you have very high costs, Medicare will pay all the costs, a $25 premium and much better benefits than you can possibly find in the private
sector. BUSH: I’ve got a plan on Medicare that’s a two-stage plan that says we’re going to have immediate help for seniors in what I call “Immediate Helping Hand,” a $48 billion program. [Then,] seniors are going to have not only a Medicare
plan where the poor seniors will have their prescriptions paid for, but there will be a variety of options. My plan not only trusts seniors with options, my plan sets aside $3.4 trillion for Medicare over the next 10 years.
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Source: (X-ref Bush) Presidential debate, Boston MA
Al Gore on Health Care
: Sep 30, 2000
Cover 12 million uninsured at a 10-year cost of $157 billion
Gore has a more articulate, wide-ranging strategy on health, besides a more aggressive attitude to drug companies and HMOs. He proposes to: - Cover 12 million uninsured at a 10-year cost of $157 billion
- proposes to extend health insurance to the
uninsured by expanding the State-Children’s Insurance Program (S-CHIP) to include both more children and also their parents.
- wants to change the Medicare rules to let Americans buy into the program with the help of a 25% tax credit, ten years earlier
than they can now. Estimates for costs and coverage are 12 million more Americans insured, at a cost of $157 billion over ten years.
- proposes providing a subsidized prescription drug benefit to all enrolled in Medicare, administered through the
existing Medicare system. Estimated costs: $253 billion over ten years.
- supports a patients’ bill of rights which extends broad rights such as guaranteed access to specialists and the ability to sue negligent health plans.
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Source: The Economist, “Issues 2000”
Al Gore on Health Care
: Sep 25, 2000
Stronger penalties for HMOs who drop seniors
“I won’t go along with plans that would force (seniors) into HMOs. The other side has called Medicare a ‘government HMO.’ We will no longer just accept the rising wave of HMOs dropping seniors and denying them coverage, all to enhance their bottom
line.’’ He proposed doubling the minimum requirement for HMOs contracting with the government to provide health care to the elderly and disabled in Medicare. He also would double the penalty for HMOs who drop patients.
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Source: AP Story, NY Times
Al Gore on Health Care
: Sep 23, 2000
Encourage competition, ensure choice, stop abuses
The plan would have health providers compete for the business of seniors on the basis of both quality and price. The plan will also crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse and take steps to rationalize cost sharing, reform Medigap, and ensure adequate
provider payment rates. The plan will make Medicare more competitive by ensuring choice, and it will make it harder for HMOs to drop seniors and will forbid “cherry-picking.”
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Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 45
Al Gore on Health Care
: Sep 23, 2000
Modernize Medicare with choice, efficiency, competition
Gore’s “Crossroads” plan for Modernizing Medicare: - Letting seniors make choices about their health coverage;
- Making sure seniors can choose their own doctor;
- Increasing price
competition;
- Cracking down on fraud;
- Introducing new management techniques;
- Protecting choice by increasing penalties for HMOs that cherry pick [choosing healthy patients over riskier patients]
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Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 6
Al Gore on Health Care
: Sep 18, 2000
Enforce HMO coverage of women’s cancer treatment
Gore said he would push Congress to give women coverage for screening programs to detect cancer as part of a package of health proposals. “Let’s put an end to the HMO penalties and incentives that encourage doctors and nurses to give women substandard
care. That’s wrong and it ought to be against the law.’’ Gore endorsed legislation that would require coverage of mastectomies, mammograms and other procedures crucial to women. It would also ensure coverage for obstetrics and gynecological services.
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Source: AP Story, NY Times
Al Gore on Principles & Values
: Jul 10, 2000
Stand for the people and against special interests
Will we stand up for the people? Or will we allow entrenched interests to take over the Presidency as well as the Congress? I’ve stood up to the big drug companies, the big oil companies, the insurance companies and the HMO’s.
We’ve shown that we can put progress ahead of partisanship, to make gains that were once unimaginable: the first budget surpluses in a generation. Twenty-two million new jobs. Targeted tax cuts to pay for college and job training. The welfare rolls
cut in half. Now, we can set our sights even higher. Imagine an America where no parent or grandparent ever has to choose between medicine and food and rent; where we honor the bonds between the generations, and keep Social Security
and Medicare strong. Imagine an America that transforms education -- so that there is a qualified teacher in every classroom. Imagine an America where we cure cancer, ease the pain of disease, and let all our children breathe air free of pollution.
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Source: Speech in Connecticut on special interests
Al Gore on Principles & Values
: Jul 7, 2000
Whose side are you on? The people’s or the powerful?
Gore used a version of an old union organizing slogan about choosing sides: “The fundamental choice has to do with whose side are you on. I want to fight for the people; the other side fights for the powerful,” Gore said. “That’s why the big
pharmaceutical companies are supporting Governor Bush. That’s why the big oil companies are supporting Governor Bush. That’s why the big polluters are supporting Governor Bush. That’s why the HMO’s and insurance companies are supporting Governor Bush.”
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Source: Alison Mitchell, New York Times, p. A12
Al Gore on Health Care
: Mar 14, 2000
25% tax credit for health insurance; HMO appeals
On Tax breaks:25% tax credit for people who buy private health insurance because they don’t get it at work. People who do get insurance at work would also get a 25% tax credit on premiums-if the company has fewer than 50 employees and joins a
“purchasing coalition” to negotiate affordable rates.On HMOs:Supports right of patients to “independent appeal” when denied treatment, guaranteed coverage of emergency room treatment, and “redress” for actions of the HMO, & other protections.
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Source: Associated Press
Al Gore on Health Care
: Jan 8, 2000
Patient rights: emergency coverage & performance disclosure
Q: How would you address concerns over managed care & patients’ rights?
A: I support a strong & enforceable patients’ bill of rights that guarantees every American access to the specialists they need. It assures that patients are covered for emergency
visits when & where the need arises and requires health plans to disclose relevant information, including their performance specific to children. It also ensures health plans are held accountable when they take actions that result in harm to patients.
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Source: National Association of Children’s Hospitals survey
Al Gore on Health Care
: Oct 28, 1999
Patients and doctors should decide who gets what care
Q: If you were to implement health care reforms, who would be the decision-makers? Who chooses what’s covered? A: I think the decision-maker ought to be the people who are getting the care. That’s why I strongly support an HMO Patient
Bill of Rights, so that the decisions on specific care are made by doctors and not by faceless bureaucrats who don’t have a license to practice medicine and who don’t have a right to play God. That’s who I think ought to make the decisions.
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Source: Democrat Debate at Dartmouth College
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 15, 1999
Allow appealing HMO decisions externally & in court
We can not support a system that leaves [patients] powerless against corporate health care. [We need] both internal and external appeals processes which are fair and readily available and which use neutral experts who are not selected, paid, or otherwise
beholden to the HMO. In life-threatening cases, there must be an expedited process. Finally, once all options to receive necessary medical care have been exhausted, every American should have the right to seek reasonable relief in the courts.
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Source: Senate statement: “Health Care Reform”
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 15, 1999
Full doctor-patient discussion even when it costs HMO
Today, some doctors are prevented by HMOs from openly discussing all medical treatments available to a patient. This is unconscionable. HMOs must not be allowed to stop doctors from openly discussing all possible care available, even if the procedures
are not covered by the HMO. A doctor’s loyalty must be to the patient and not an HMO’s bottom line.
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Source: Senate statement: “Health Care Reform”
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 15, 1999
Patient Rights: access; MDs over HMOs; grievance process
Several principles must guide our health care debate:- Put patients and doctors in charge of their own health care, not HMO bureaucrats
- Improve access to affordable health care
- Choice of doctors to meet health care needs
- Guaranteed access
to emergency care
- Continuity of care when employers change
- Doctors must be able to communicate openly and fully with their patients
- A free and fair grievance process in the event an HMO denies medical care, including relief in the courts.
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Source: Senate statement: “Health Care Reform”
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 15, 1999
“Patient rights” means value human life over dollars
I applaud the success of managed care in reining in skyrocketing health care costs, eradicating excessive health care expenditures, and reducing unnecessary overuse of the system. However, too many Americans feel trapped in a system which does not put
their health care needs first. They believe that HMOs value a paper dollar more than they do a human life. We cannot continue to ignore the rights of patients. We have allowed the health care reform debate to be determined by special interest groups.
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Source: Senate statement: “Health Care Reform”
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 15, 1999
Allow paying extra for choice of doctors & care
Americans should be free to choose their doctors, including specialists, if they are willing to bear the additional costs which may accompany this freedom. People should be able to enroll in a point-of-service plan with access to a multitude of
physicians, rather than be limited to an HMO which restricts freedom of choice in doctors.
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Source: Senate statement: “Health Care Reform”
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 2, 1998
Supports patient rights; regulate nicotine as a drug
McCain supports the following principles regarding health issues:- Support legislation to define and enforce the rights of insured patients
- Classify nicotine as a drug and cigarettes as drug delivery devices regulated by the FDA.
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Source: Project Vote Smart, 1998, www.vote-smart.org