Bush Issues Veto Threat
Thursday, June 21, 2001
WASHINGTON — President Bush threatened Thursday to veto a Democrat-backed bill that would change regulations to the health care industry, saying it was riddled with serious flaws that would jeopardize the ability of Americans to afford health insurance.
The threat, issued in writing by the Office of Management and Budget, was within minutes read aloud on the Senate floor by Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark.
"The president will veto the bill unless significant changes are made to address his major concerns," the administration said.
Bush's aides have long signaled opposition to the measure, co-sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain. Bush himself has spoken often about his desire to sign legislation that was markedly different from the bill that Democrats pushed to the floor as the first order of business after gaining a Senate majority.
Much of the dispute surrounding the legislation stems from the issue of when and where patients may sue for denial of care and how much in damages they should be permitted to seek, although there is less disagreement among lawmakers about the type of protections to provide patients.
The Senate's Democratic majority wants to pass far-reaching rules designed to help patients sue HMOs when delays in or denial of care lead to disastrous or fatal results. The debate is over when and in what court patients may file lawsuits for denial of care and how much in damages they should be entitled to seek.
The bill's supporters say the Republicans are sympathetic to the managed-care companies and businesses and that the GOP generally favors a more limited right to sue.
But critics of the bill say it will make the cost of health insurance more expensive, and that Democrats are aligned with the trial lawyer industry, which could benefit from the bill's passage. They point out that Edwards, one of the bill's sponsors, was a trial lawyer before he became a senator and that Edwards and Kennedy have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from trial attorneys.
In general, the bill also would grant patients access to emergency care, the right to select a pediatrician as a child's primary care physician, access to specialists and other rights.
House Republicans finished the bulk of an alternative plan in hopes of drawing party moderates away from a similar version destined for that chamber. The House GOP leaders' plan would let a patient sue an HMO for denial of care if the patient won an appeal and the insurance company refused to abide by the ruling. And patients would be permitted to bring suit in state courts and seek punitive damages, which are unlimited in some states.
The bill backed by most Senate Republicans offers no new right to sue in state court, where juries are presumed more sympathetic to plaintiffs.
At a GOP news conference on patients rights Thursday, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee said that while he recognizes the fight on HMO reform may be the first leadership test of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and "that does put pressure on [to get through the bill on Daschle's timetable]... that's not what we want to do."
And after going through a litany of issues Republicans want to debate on the floor, from liability and caps to medical malpractice, Frist said, "We don't know how long it's going to take."
This comes after Sen. Daschle again insisted the bill will be completed by the Fourth of July recess, or members will stay in Washington during break to finish it. And Sen. McCain still seems hopeful. "I don't think we'll win every amendment," he said, "but it will be difficult to defend to Americans that (the Republicans) are blocking a piece of legislation that simply deserves to be decided upon."
Bush acted as the Senate moved through its third day of debate on the measure, and Hutchinson advanced an amendment to allow the self-employed to deduct their health insurance costs fully starting Jan.1, one year ahead of the schedule fixed in current law.
"The president will veto the bill unless significant changes are made to address his major concerns," the administration said.
"While the president strongly supports a comprehensive and enforceable patients' bill of rights and has been working with members of both parties to enact legislation this year, he believes (the measure pending in the Senate) would encourage costly and unnecessary litigation that would seriously jeopardize the ability of many Americans to afford health care coverage."
Kennedy said he hopes Bush will reconsider his position.
"It is disappointing that the president continues to repeat threats to veto comprehensive patient protections supported by virtually every group of doctors, nurses and patients," he said. "The president should stand with them and not with HMOs and insurance companies."
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