Editorial: Health care bill is too little, too late

Tuesday, July 28, 1998 | 11:31 a.m.

The House voted Friday to give some protection for patients covered by health care plans, but the legislation falls far short of what is needed.

House Republicans deserve credit for doing more than what their colleagues in the Senate have offered, but that isn't saying much considering the dismal state of the Senate Republican leadership's proposal.

The House GOP bill, which was voted for by both Reps. John Ensign and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., contains some provisions similar to those found in the Democratic plan. The Republican bill would ensure that health plans pay for needed emergency room care. It also would prohibit "gag rules" that prevent doctors from telling their patients about high-cost treatment.

The most striking difference between the two is the Republicans' insistence that health plans keep their immunity from punitive damages. Lawsuits are permitted now, but they are limited to retrieving no more than the costs of the denied treatment. As the New York Times noted Saturday, under the current system if a woman died from undetected breast cancer, her family could get only the cost of a mammogram.

It is unconscionable for federal legislators to let this legal loophole continue for health care plans. Other industries and businesses are subject to lawsuits that include punitive damages, so why should health care companies be exempt, especially when their interference in the patient-doctor relationship can have tragic consequences. Because of this, the Republican House plan has appropriately enough been dubbed as the "Insurance Company Protection Act."

The House GOP leadership has belatedly come around on health care reform because of the fear that it is resonating with the public and could play a pivotal role in key elections this November. But Republicans have crafted a political proposal lacking sound public policy.

Republicans are doing the bare minimum, which they believe is just enough to allow them to hold the majority they currently have in the House. The real danger for House Republicans, however, is that the American people will see this for what it is -- damage control -- and reject Republicans for doing too little too late.