Panel Can’t Agree on Health Bill of Rights

President Clinton’s commission on health quality finished its work Thursday, unable to agree whether the consumer bill of rights it endorsed should be guaranteed by law.

Members agreed to a bill of rights that includes giving consumers more information about their health plans, the right to appeal denials of care to an independent panel and access to specialists and emergency care.

But the panel would not agree that Congress should codify those rights.

Similarly, there was no agreement on giving patients who are harmed the right to take their cases to court and collect damages from an insurance company. Federal law bars these suits for 125 million Americans who are covered by health plans that are regulated by the federal government.

Commission members will be at the White House today to present their report to the president, who has been pressing Congress to write their bill of rights into law.

The final report also includes an analysis of quality problems in the health care system.