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OCR Page 1 of 15PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS BEEN A LONGSTANDING LEADER IN PROVIDING
PATIENTS THE PROTECTIONS THEY NEED
September 1996. The President announced his intention to create a Quality Commission to
advise him on the changes in the health care system and make recommendations on how best
to assure patient protections and quality health care.
April 1997. The President announced the Members of his Quality Commission, which
included all of the representatives players in the health care industry, including businesses,
insurers, consumers, labor, doctors, and nurses. At that time, he asked the Commission to
develop a patients' bill of rights as its first order of business.
November 1997. The President endorsed the Quality Commission patients' bill of rights and
asked Congress to make it the law of the land.
November 1997. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott reportedly told health-insurance
lobbyists to "get off your butts, get off your wallets" to help defeat the patients' bill of
rights.
January 1998. In his State of the Union address, the President focused the nation on this
issue and reiterated his call on Congress to pass a patients' bill of rights before they
adjourned this year.
February 1998. The President issued an Executive Memorandum directing the Federal
health plans (Medicare, Medicaid, DoD, FEHBP, and VA), which cover 85 million
Americans to implement the patients' bill of rights.
February 1998. Speaker Gingrich appointed a task force that promised to move rapidly to
produce a patients' bill of rights. After promising each month to release a patients' bill of
rights, they finally issued a press release detailing their proposal in June.
March 1998. The President reiterated his call on Congress to pass a patients' bill of rights
this year in a speech to the American Medical Association. Doctors, nurses, patients and
other consumers strongly believe that the Congress should pass a strong, enforceable
patients' bill of rights this year.
March 1998. The President accepted the final recommendations of his Quality Commission.
At that time he, yet again, called on Congress to pass a patients' bill of rights.
April through June 1998. The President and the Vice President, at every opportunity,
continued to urge Congress to pass a patients' bill of rights.
June 1998. In late June, eight months after the President called on Congress to pass a
patients' bill of rights, the House Republicans finally issued a press release on principles for
patient protections.
July 1998. Today, with less than forty days left in this Congress, the Republicans have still
yet to introduce any legislation on this issue.
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