Lawmakers Discuss Patients’ Rights, HCFA Reform at AMA Conference

Three members of Congress spoke about health care initiatives in the 107th Congress yesterday at the American Medical Association's National Leadership Conference. Keynote speaker Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said he expected a patients' bill of rights to pass both the House and the Senate by mid-year, but noted that several issues must still be resolved, including:

Whether federal legislation would preempt states' own patients' rights laws;
Whether the federal government or state governments should regulate ERISA;
If administrative remedies would have to be exhausted before turning to litigation; and
If there will be caps on non-economic punitive damages.

Kyl said that he expects all of these issues to be resolved. He also predicted that a prescription drug benefit for seniors would pass "later this year," and called medical malpractice tort reform the most difficult issue facing the Congress. Kyl stressed the need for reforming HCFA, saying that the government should make it more difficult for the agency to "criminalize" providers' "billing errors."

Tauzin Studies HCFA
Rep. W.J. Tauzin (R-La.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said yesterday at the conference that his committee has begun examining "every aspect" of HCFA in order to determine whether the agency needs to be "radically reformed." He asked the doctors to bring him their "real life stories" of their interactions with the agency.

Andrews on Doctors and Patients
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), a senior Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee, offered his proposals for giving doctors more leverage against "the autocracy of the managed care industry." They include:

Creating more competition in the health insurance market;
Reintroducing a proposal by former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) that would allow doctors to bargain collectively with HMOs; and
Enacting a patients' bill of rights that would "restore privacy" to doctors' decision making, apply to every insured American and establish "real standards of reliability and accountability."

He also said he would offer legislation in the next month that would provide tax credits to help the uninsured get health care (Meredith Weiner, Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/6). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.

Lawmakers Discuss Patients’ Rights, HCFA Reform at AMA Conference

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