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Committee on Ways and Means For Immediate Release Unlock Hold on Patients’ Bill
of Rights, WASHINGTON – Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) and Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT) sent the following letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle on December 19. Dear Mr. Majority Leader, We write to express our support for the strong patient protections encompassed in the House-passed patients’ bill of rights and to ask that you call a conference as soon as possible in order to make patient protections law. Patients, physicians and other providers have worked too hard and waited too long for this legislation to get bottled up in partisan bickering. It was more than four months ago that both chambers passed versions of patients’ bill of rights. Yet we are baffled that you have not called a conference. Indeed, the bill that passed the Senate in July has yet to be sent to the House, making it impossible for our Chamber to request a conference with the Senate. We fail to see why this process is being delayed. With time running out in this legislative session, we encourage you to call for immediate talks between the House and Senate to resolve this important issue. The House-passed bill is critically important to patients in managed care and for those without access to affordable insurance. This is not a new issue, and significant progress has been made over the years that have dramatically narrowed the differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. Because we are so close to agreement on the various patients’ bill of rights provisions, we believe this is a matter that can and should be resolved quickly. We encourage your prompt action to ensure that all patients in managed care plans are protected. Best regards, Nancy L. Johnson
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