It is holiday time again as Congress takes its Independence Day break. Pauses in the legislative schedule tend to provide opportunities for deadlines, and this one has been no exception. Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, the newly minted Majority Leader, had suggested that the break would begin after the Senate finished his priority business, the Patients' Bill of Rights.
The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, John Edwards of North Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, would guarantee managed-care patients a broad array of protections, such as treatment in the nearest emergency room and easier access to specialists. It also allows patients to bring complaints before independent review boards and sue for damages when they believe that have been improperly denied care.
The bill picked up momentum as it moved through the Senate. Republicans introduced amendment after amendment, only to see them go down to defeat by reasonably solid margins -- more than 60-40. As the momentum built, Daschle and a group of his moderate colleagues reached out to revamp the more controversial elements of the bill and try to get something that President George W. Bush would sign.