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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (164626)	7/26/2001 4:35:51 AM
From: ColtonGang	Respond to of 769670

Republicans: the party that caters to the "highpriced spread."

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (164626)	7/26/2001 4:41:40 AM
From: ColtonGang	Respond to of 769670

GO MCCAIN..............McCain to Bush: 'Read the Bill' Patients’ Rights Fight Heats Up By Carter M. Yang W A S H I N G T O N, June 22 — A frustrated Sen. John McCain took to the Senate floor today to scold President Bush for threatening to veto a proposed patients' bill of rights, suggesting his former rival doesn't understand the legislation. ‘A Failure to Comprehend’ "Critics need to read the bill before inaccurate charges are made," said McCain, R-Ariz. "There is either misunderstanding or a failure to comprehend what this legislation is all about in the message that was sent over in a threat [to] veto." McCain, who challenged Bush for the Republican presidential nomination last year, responded point-by-point to the objections raised in a written statement issued Thursday by the White House Office of Management and Budget. It informed Senators the president would veto the patients' rights proposal. "The president's statement says this legislation subjects physicians … to greater liability risks," said McCain, who co-authored the bill with Democrats Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina. "My only answer to that: Read the bill." The Democratic-backed health-care reform initiative would allow patients to sue their health maintenance organizations and insurance companies in state court over decisions to deny medical treatment. It would also permit them to recover punitive damage awards as high as $5 million. Most Republicans argue the plan would unleash a wave of frivolous lawsuits, which in turn would drive up health-insurance premiums and swell the ranks of the uninsured. "The president will veto the bill unless significant changes are made to address his major concerns," read the OMB statement, which went on to detail what the president views as "serious flaws" with the legislation. "We are going to stay at it until this bill gets signed into law," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said at a news conference on Captiol Hill this afternoon. "If we've got to deal with a veto — and I hope that it won't come to that — we're going to deal with that." Attack of the Killer Amendments? Republican opponents of the so-called Bipartisan Patient Protection Act were pushing amendments aimed at addressing their concerns. "This bill … is fatally flawed," said Minority Whip Don Nickles, R-Okla., who is spearheading the GOP effort to reshape the Democratic initiative in the image of a rival Republican proposal. "President Bush is exactly right … This bill needs to be fixed." The Democratic bill would allow people to sue their employers if there were "direct participation" by the business in a health plan's decision to deny medical treatment. Republicans argue many small and mid-sized businesses would stop offering health insurance benefits rather than face a new legal liability. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, introduced a measure this afternoon that would shield employers from lawsuits. "This bill is aimed like a gun at the head of employers," said Nickles. "Look out! The trial lawyers are after you!" A vote on the amendment was expected next Tuesday. Democrats oppose the measure, but are expected to support another amendment being crafted by Maine Republican Olympia Snowe that would further limit, but not eliminate, employers' exposure to health care-related lawsuits. Supporters of the Democratic legislation — including McCain and fellow Republican Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island — rallied Thursday to defeat an amendment offered by Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., to make the cost of health insurance fully tax deductible for self-employed individuals. The measure was rejected on a 52-45 vote. Republicans planned to offer additional amendments next week they insist are designed to improve the bill. But Democrats maintain most of the GOP measures are aimed only at weakening the legislation. "There's a big difference between a patients' bill of rights and a patients' bill of suggestions," Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., told reporters today. This morning, the Senate voted 89-1 to approve a measure offered by McCain aimed at reinforcing a provision already in the bill to guarantee patients access to clinical trials. Democratic leaders hope to pass the legislation largely unchanged by the end of next week and have threatened to cancel the upcoming Independence Day recess if Republicans delay a final vote. "There is absolutely no reason why this debate needs to last longer than the two weeks we've allotted for it," said Daschle. "But I'm in no hurry."