So, is the God-given American

right to sue all there is to the Patients' Bill of Rights?

You would think as much from

watching and reading news reports.

I've listened to congressional

debates on C-Span and less formal debates on TV talking-head shows, and

I've read newspaper accounts, and that's all anybody is talking about

... who can sue whom, under what circumstances and for how much.

One congressman did phrase

it slightly differently. He said the version he disagreed with wouldn't

do enough to help patients fight HMOs.

Fight HMOs? Makes it sound

like HMOs are some kind of alien force that's attacking our borders by

land, sea and air. Just think, if he had been born later, Paul Revere

would have had to have three lanterns. "The HMOs are coming, the

HMOs are coming!"

Last time I checked, nobody

was forced to be a member of an HMO. Certainly the fact that one deliberately

chose to receive health care from a "managed care" organization

does not exempt those organizations from being held responsible for the

care, or lack of care, that they render, and if we needed to occupy a

couple of months of national debate getting that straightened out, so

be it.

But I don't understand the

vilification of that form of health care.

I get my health care from Kaiser,

and years ago I was a member of Prucare. There are drawbacks to that kind

of system, but on balance, I like it pretty well. I pay a pretty steep

but manageable monthly premium, and when I need a doctor, I don't worry

about where the money is coming from.

In contrast, I spent about

a year insured under the old style of program, and when I spent one night

in a hospital for observation no actual treatment involved I had to come

out of pocket with over $3,000.

Some people prefer to take

that risk so they can have their annual checkups done and take their flu

shots from some friendly family doctor that they're comfortable with,

and that's certainly their choice.

I'm happy to go to the doc-in-a-box

for the minor stuff, knowing that if anything major comes up I'll be sent

to a specialist anyway, probably the same specialist that Doc Friendly

sends his patients to.

Granted, managed care requires

you to take a little more active role in your own health care. I get copies

of my test results and discuss them with the doctor du jour, and if I'm

not satisfied with the response, I push.

Is it perfect? No, and neither

are any of the other alternatives often discussed.

The key point is that we have

alternatives, and as I understand it, that's one of the best things about

this new legislation ... it increases access to more alternatives, like

medical savings accounts.

More choices, lower cost, personal

responsibility ... sounds like the American way.