Patients Bill of Rights

“Oftentimes these companies are getting between the doctor and the patient,” Easley said at a news conference. “Bureaucrats should not decide whether you get cancer screening.”
-Easley, lawmakers offer package; 2/21/01 Charlotte Observer

“If you are an insurance company and you deny coverage to the consumer and that causes injury, then you ought to be held accountable just as doctors are,” Easley said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
-Easley offers HMO bill; 2/21/01 Raleigh News and Observer

“The people of North Carolina are one step closer to getting the basic patients’ rights protection they deserve, thanks to the North Carolina Senate,” Easley said in a statement after the vote. “… This bill makes it clear that North Carolina will protect the health care rights of working families.”
-Patient’s rights bill OK’d; 4/26/01 Raleigh News and Observer

“I look forward to signing a bill that gives patients the protections they deserve,” Easley said. “I commend both the House and Senate for their leadership and making it clear that North Carolina will protect the health care rights of working families without waiting for Washington to act.”
-Patients’ rights legislation clears the House; 8/30/01 Raleigh News and Observer

Easley called “the strongest patients’ protection plan in the nation… “I commend the legislature for moving forward on this important issue without waiting for Washington to act,” Easley said. “This bipartisan legislation protects the doctor-patient relationship and ensures that decisions regarding health-care treatment are made by doctors rather than administrators or bureaucrats.”
-HMO bill gets final approval; 10/10/01 Raleigh News and Observer

Too often, managed-care companies seem to place more emphasis on ‘managed’ and less emphasis on ‘care,’ ” Easley said, before signing the bill. “This bill guarantees that no one gets between you and your doctor. This legislation puts the focus back on care and puts the medical decisions back in the hands of doctors.”
-Patient’s Bill of Rights Now Law; 10/19/01 Raleigh News and Observer

“We are currently evaluating all options. We will make a decision that best serves consumers,” Hartman said.
-Dispute brews over who should oversee patients rights program; 11/1/01 Associated Press

“Housing the new office in the Department of Justice with their strong consumer protection section is a natural fit,” Easley said. “Because the Insurance Department also has effective programs in place to help consumers resolve problems with health care providers, collaboration between the two agencies will be essential to guaranteeing that patients rights are protected.”
“Our law protects the doctor-patient relationship and guarantees managed care patients access to specialists, continuity of care, and direct access to pediatricians,” Easley said.
-Easley establishes patients’ assistance program; 5/14/02 Greensboro News and Record