President Bush's Executive Order Intrudes on the Patient-Doctor Relationship

Minneapolis, Minnesota -- The executive order, drafted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and expected to be signed today by President George W. Bush in Minneapolis, threatens the heart and soul of patient care, says Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC). Although the official executive order has yet to be released, Twila Brase, CCHC's president, makes the following statement:

"The medical decisions of nearly 300 million Americans are about to be usurped...all under the guise of 'consumer-directed health care.'"

"The President's executive order threatens the professional ethics of medicine, the health, safety and autonomy of patients, and the sanctity of the patient-doctor relationship."

"In collaboration with government-approved data collection and reporting organizations, corporate and government outsiders, primarily interested in cost-containment, will be empowered to direct the practice of medicine.

"By signing the executive order, and committing to get employers to require similar reporting of data on their privately insured employees, President Bush furthers government intrusion and health plan micromanagement of all medical decisions.

"No patient will be safe.

"Despite assertions otherwise, the executive order is not about consumer-directed health care or quality improvement. It's about control, specifically cost control.

"The President has received some really bad advice. His executive order is not a free-market, consumer-driven initiative. It's a government-imposed plan that will ultimately lead to limited patient access to care, and an end to individualized medical treatment.