Editorial: Brokering this deal is tough

Thursday, May 4, 2000 | 10:14 a.m.

House and Senate negotiators have made some progress on a patient's bill of rights, but the reality is they are well beyond their self-imposed deadline to send legislation to President Clinton by April 23. This delay is owed, in part, to the fundamental differences between how the Senate and the House view this contentious issue.

Although both House and Senate plans would allow a patient to appeal denial of coverage to an outside panel and ensure that a patient could use any hospital in the event of an emergency, the similarities pretty much end there. The Republican-drafted plan in the Senate would cover just 55 million Americans and wouldn't guarantee the patient the right to sue his HMO. In contrast, the House proposal not only has earned bipartisan support, but it also is a genuine patient's bill of rights. The House bill covers all people who have private insurance -- 161 million -- and ensures that a patient can sue his health insurer if he has been harmed. This substantial gap obviously makes it difficult, at best, to find common ground.

It is encouraging, though, to see President Clinton, who supports the House's version of a patient's bill of rights, try to jump-start the process. Clinton says he plans to meet with House and Senate negotiators on Monday to assess why they aren't making headway. Clinton, however, will have a difficult time in accomplishing much. For instance, some Democrats have refused to budge an inch, believing a compromise could be bad politics, because they would have to share credit with the Republicans for passing popular legislation. Still, it is the Senate Republican opposition that has been mostly to blame for the failure to get a consensus, since they are tethered to the powerful insurance industry, which opposes concessions that would result in the House bill becoming law.

The more delays there are, the more this benefits the insurance lobby, which can put off for another year having to deal with patient rights. Public opinion polls consistently have shown Americans want these protections, even if it means they might pay some more in premiums. Clinton needs to maintain the pressure on Congress. It won't be easy to get a deal, but maybe members of Congress can be shamed into doing the right thing if the president is able to get enough public attention focused on this issue.