Benefits July 24, 2001

HR Professionals Oppose Senate PBOR – Poll

July 24, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A majority of human resources (HR) professionals believe that the Senate version of the Patient's Bill of Rights will do more harm than good, according to a poll.

Reported by

Camilla Klein

Supporters of the bill believe that it will improve coverage, while those on the other side of the fence believe the legislation would do more to raise health-care costs than improve coverage.

The poll, conducted by BenefitsNext.com, BLR.com and HRnext.com, revealed that:

almost 70% of HR people believe that the costs would outweigh whatever improvements it brought in coverage
only 16% believe that the health-care improvements would more than offset the costs,
while, 15% predict it would make no difference in cost or quality

The accompanying discussion in the Community section of HRnext took a similar tone, with the majority opposing the provision allowing patients to sue their HMOs in federal court if they are denied benefits, arguing that it would only benefit trial lawyers and lead to higher premiums for everyone else.

The poll was taken between July 2 and July 9, 2001 and comprised 323 votes.