There have been many, many attempts to codify a "Patient's Bill of
Rights." The American Hospital Association created one in the 1970's,
but it did not have any force of law. The AMA created one, and it too
does not have the force of law.
http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/risk/patient_rights/patient_rights_7.html
Under the Clinton Administration, the US Advisory Commission on
Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry imposed
what they called a "Patient's Bill of Rights," but it covered ONLY
patients being treated under Medicaid and Medicare.
See http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/1999pres/990412.html
"Overview: On March 26, 1997, President Clinton created the Advisory
Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care
Industry and charged it with recommend[ing] such measures as may be
necessary to promote and assure health care quality and value and
protect consumers and workers in the health care system." As part of
that charge, the President asked the Commission to develop a
"Patients' Bill of Rights" in health care."
Also see http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MIT/content/MIT_3_2_Patients_Bill_Of_Rights.asp
for the text of the Advisory Commission's Bill of Rights.
These efforts, however, are not codified into Federal Law.
In 2001, Senators McCain, Edwards, and Kennedy introduced what they
called the "Bipartisan Patients Bill of Rights" in the Senate. That
bill passed the Senate, but went nowhere in the House. The House
proposed two different bills, neither of which went anywhere either.
http://democrats.senate.gov/pbr/summary.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/29/patients.rights/
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Issue_Spotlights&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5015
The Democrats in the House tried again in 2004, but the bill never
even got to the floor.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/06/22/national1946EDT0747.DTL
Note: None of this should be confused with the Emergency Medical
Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which was passed as part of
the COBRA legislation in 1986. EMTALA is sometimes referred to as the
?anti-dumping law,? and it prohibits hospitals that participate in
Medicare from refusing to see patients in an emergency because of
inability to pay.
http://www.emtala.com/faq.htm
Although it offers certain protections to patients, it has never been
considered a "Patient's Bill of Rights."
You are correct that Maine has enacted its own "Patients' Bill of
Rights." Enacted in 1999-2000, this bill revised numerous sections of
the Maine Revised Statutes relating to health care and Managed Care
Organizations. Among other things, it requires MCOs to provide
reasonable access to health care to its members, including those
living in rural areas; established grievance procedures for members;
requires MCOs to provide members with standing referrals to
specialists; requires continuity of care in cases where a provider is
disenrolled, and establishes notice procedures for such continuity of
care; requires choice in primary care; requires access to clinical
trials; imposes additional requirements for pharmacy coverage for
those plans offering pharmacy coverage; provides for external review
of an MCO?s decisions; and provides for an independent cause of action
against MCO?s.
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/ros/lom/lom119th/5pub701%2D750/5pub701%2D750%2D144.htm
However, to the extent that Maine grants patients the right to sue
their MCO?s directly, that law is superseded by the Supreme Court?s
recent decision in _Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila_ (2004) 542 U.S. ____,
holding that such state laws are pre-empted by ERISA (Federal law).
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/21june20041210/www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03pdf/02-1845.pdf?AddInterest=1205
Hope this is what you were looking for. Let me know if I can be of
any further assistance. |
