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Your voice is not being heard about the Patients' Bill of Rights

                                                                    Read these articles and then e-mail Congress about the urgency of a Bill with Teeth in it to keep these unscrupulous companies from running roughshod over you.

HMO Group Unhappy About New Patients' Rights Bill 
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - The new patients' rights bill introduced last week by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and others would actually be more of a threat to managed care plans and the nation's health care system(more ==>)

March 27, 2001 - The New York Times
3 State Groups Join Doctors in Insurer Suit
By MILT FREUDENHEIM
The state medical associations of California, Georgia and Texas joined individual doctors from seven states yesterday in a federal lawsuit that accused eight health insurers, including Aetna Inc. and the Cigna Corporation, of engaging in "a pattern of racketeering activity" to deny necessary medical care. (more ==>)
 

Patients with a medical emergency now have one more thing to worry about — a health care system that might not be able to deliver.  In several cities across the country, hospital emergency rooms are closing for hours, forcing ambulances to divert from the closest one and find a hospital that can accept them. (more ==>)

US Lawmakers Warned of Impending Nurse Shortage
The nursing shortage that the US health care system currently faces threatens to become an even more serious problem down the road, witnesses warned a Senate subcommittee Tuesday.  (more ==>)

A parent needs medical care, not red tape. Ill child? Sorry, doctor will not see you now Has anyone else noticed that when you call a doctor's office for help, the last question asked is, "What is wrong?" The first is, "What type of insurance do you carry?" It is not news to anyone that the arrival of health-maintenance organizations..... (more ==>)

HMO reaction to a cost-saving request: Brace yourself 
My husband and I have been members of a health-maintenance organization for years. We have always been happy with the services provided and the doctors we chose. That is, until now...... (more ==>)

In Response to these recent articles, the following letter to the editor was written by Dr. Markus and published by the Inquirer.  The two HMO stories in the South Jersey Section of the Monday February 19th Inquirer absolutely amazed me.  They amazed me NOT because of the shortcomings of the managed care physicians and claims administrators, but because after everything that has been written and published and broadcast about managed care (I prefer to call it Mangled Care) that there are those who still expect coverage without red tape.  ...... (more ==>)

In 1985, Aetna, one of the nation's strongest insurance companies selected Dr. Markus for the Aetna Prevent problem.  Twelve months later, they were over $20,000 delinquent in their payments.  They set up a meeting.  Four Aetna executives were helicoptered to Philadelphia where they were picked up in a limousine and taken to the office.  They eventually paid the money owed.  They certainly could have saved money somewhere on this story.  Several years ago, they merged with USHealthcare.  That was the end of any semblance of sanity...... (more ==>)