Against a Federal Patients' Bill of Rights

Abstract

The failure of the 107th Congress to pass a "Patients' Bill of Rights" (PBR) is widely considered a major disappointment,1 to be remedied in the 108th Congress by the adoption of such legislation. Indeed, federal PBR proposals have achieved the proverbial motherhood-and-apple-pie status; it is virtually impossible to find anyone actively opposing a federal PBR. Many members of the 108th Congress likely feel pressure to pass PBR legislation before returning to the electorate in 2004.