Battle Over Patients Rights Bills Heats Up

Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., a leader in developing House patients rights legislation, is supporting the House counterpart to S. 283, H.R. 526.

Norwood had been holding off on formally endorsing H.R. 526. “While the issue was still on the back burner, I felt we had time to try to create a bill that would have universal support from Congress and the White House,” he says.

But now, he says, the issue has re-emerged, and everyone has to make a choice on what to support.

Norwood calls H.R. 526/S. 283 the only legislation “that guarantees a patient will find justice if they are injured or killed from improperly denied care.”

Meanwhile, Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sam Johnson, R-Texas, have issued a joint statement attacking the new interest in H.R. 526.

“We are deeply disturbed at renewed efforts to introduce unlimited lawsuits into Americas health care system,” Boehner and Johnson state.

Protecting patients rights “requires a balanced approach built on sound public policy, not a divisive approach fueled by political considerations and special interest priorities,” the lawmakers state.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, June 22, 2001. Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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