Editorial: This is all about money, not care

Thursday, March 30, 2000 | 9:28 a.m.

The health insurance industry's latest salvo proves that it is running scared. The American Association of Health Plans is airing a new 30-second television ad that contends Congress should be concentrating on reducing medical errors made by doctors instead of passing a patient's bill of rights, which would allow patients to sue their HMOs.

"Washington prefers more lawsuits," a narrator says in the ad. "But lawsuits don't save lives -- doctors do. Get patients the care they need instead of getting lawyers the clients they want. Let's have a real health care debate." This is laughable. The fact is that the health insurance industry has no desire to have a "real" health care debate. After all, that would illuminate how the HMOs' cost-cutting has had tragic consequences for patients. The industry knows that Democratic and Republican negotiators are making progress in striking a compromise on a strong patient's bill of rights. The industry fears that if the legislation is passed it could cut into their profits, so the HMOs hope to kill this legislation by muddling the debate with these television ads.

It's a timeless tactic in politics. When interest groups or politicians fear that they're losing the battle, they try to change the topic to something else, hoping to avoid dealing with the issue at hand. Congress should disregard the braying from the health insurance industry and pass legislation that finally gives Americans a voice when dealing with powerful HMOs, too many of which focus on making money at the expense of providing quality patient care.