Legislation Introduced in 2005 Hurts All Patients, Won't Reduce Insurance Rates

New bills severely limit the ability of patients, mothers, and families to hold health care and medical products providers accountable.

House Resolution 5 (formerly 534)

Introduced in the House, the so-called Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act of 2005, would severely limit the ability of patients and other health care consumers to hold health care and medical products providers accountable. And nothing in the bill would decrease premium costs or increase the availability of medical malpractice insurance. Members of Congress should not cosponsor this legislation and should oppose these provisions on the House floor.

Learn more about this bill.

Senate Bill 354

Introduced in the Senate, the so-called Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act of 2005 would severely limit the ability of patients and other health care consumers to hold health care and medical products providers accountable. And nothing in the bill would decrease premium costs or increase the availability of medical malpractice insurance. Members of Congress should not cosponsor this legislation and should oppose these provisions on the Senate floor.

Learn more about this bill.

Senate Bill 366

This bill is an appallingly cynical attack on the rights of mothers and their babies. It is no less insidious than the bill to limit the rights of all injured patients. In fact, it is almost as if the proponents of that bill decided they would simply target the rights of the most vulnerable—pregnant mothers and their babies.

This bill will devastate the rights of parents and children, but it will help neither patients nor doctors. The real beneficiaries will be insurance companies, HMOs and large medical corporations. Sponsors of this bill have the gall to call it a "Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies' Act." How can shielding from accountability an entire medical specialty area result in healthy babies? Less accountability will never lead to better health care.

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Senate Bill 367

This bill is a mishmash of tort reform ideas involving ob/gyn and emergency room and trauma care. After targeting the rights of pregnant mothers and their babies in S. 366, some lawmakers have decided to add yet another set of vulnerable Americans—individuals with emergency medical conditions—to their bill.

This bill will devastate the rights of injured patients, but it will help neither patients nor doctors. The real beneficiaries will be insurance companies, HMOs and large medical corporations. Sponsors of this bill have the gall to call it a "Pregnancy and Trauma Care Access Protection" Act. How can shielding from accountability two entire medical specialties result in better access to health care? Less accountability will never lead to more or better care.

Learn more about this bill.

March 3, 2005