Patients who have suffered and died, doctors who have fought back and been delisted, and nurses who have protested and lost their jobs demand that reform genuinely challenge a monetized HMO establishment intent on undermining the health of patients and the professionalism of physicians and nurses.
Public outrage is at an all-time high.
The medical professions are in open revolt. If civil society does not reassert itself over the arrogance of giant HMOs, the quality of our health care and our democracy will continue to be compromised. A worthwhile HMO reform plan necessitates the following changes in civic control over HMO corporations. HMOs must be legally accountable for damages when they delay and deny medically necessary treatment. There is little doubt that the tragic record of wrongdoing and serious neglect at HMOs today springs in part from the fact that for 125 million Americans with private industry coverage there is no real remedy when wronged.