What does the Consumer Bill of Rights really say?
What does the Consumer Bill of Rights really say?
Here’s a glimpse at draft report
The Consumer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, created by a coalition of consumers, MCO executives, labor officials, physicians, and other health care professionals, is expected to stir up legislative fervor sometime this year.President Clinton established the 30-member Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry by executive order on Sept. 5, 1996.
The diverse group has agreed on at least one basic premise, says Phil Nudelman, a member of the advisory commission and the chairman and president of Kaiser Group Health in Seattle.
That premise is "All Americans should have access to quality, error-free, evidence-based health care regardless of their ability to pay."
One commission and one report is unlikely to solve this problem, but the discussion has produced some interesting ideas, including the following, which is published in the draft dated Sept. 30, 1997:
4 "A wave of mergers and consolidations has changed the insurance industry from one that was dominated by numerous small and mid-sized companies to one that is increasingly led by large, multistate or national organizations providing coverage for millions of individuals and families."
4 Physicians are increasingly under contract, with more than 45% of physicians on salary in 1995.
4 Micro-managing medicine through regulations and mandates is unwise and may waste valuable resources.
4 "Universal coverage is the best consumer protection."
4 The trend of moderation in health care costs needs to continue so coverage will be affordable for all consumers, employers, and other purchasers.
The Consumer Bill of Rights lists its guiding principles as the following four items:
1. Do no harm.
The committee rejected several policies that may improve consumers’ rights but ultimately reduce consumers’ access to quality care or to affordable insurance coverage.
2. Quality first.
The draft states, "The first question we asked ourselves in each circumstance was Will this improve the quality of care and of the system that delivers that care?’"
3. Preserve what works.
Some elements of managed care and indemnity coverage may need to be changed to better protect consumers; other elements have improved quality and may be preserved.
4. Costs matter.
The draft states that costs have a direct impact on the quality of care delivered and access to that care. "At each step of our process, we have scrupulously considered the potential cost of a proposal, the magnitude of that cost, the sector or sectors on which those costs may fall, and any methods available to spread that cost equitably among groups or individuals," the draft says.
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