Promoting his “patient bill of rights” initiative, President Clinton ordered limited new rights for HMO patients Saturday as he braced for a return to Washington.
Before a private audience in the Edgartown School, Clinton announced in his weekly radio broadcast that the Labor Department will require federally regulated workplace health plans to implement timely, internal processes for patients appealing coverage denials.
On his last full day of vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Clinton pronounced himself eager to get back to business. After 11 days of ignoring reporters’ questions, he finally responded to one.
“Mr. President, are you anxious to get back to work?”
With a small nod at the television camera, he said, “Yes.”
He and his wife, Hillary, and their daughter, Chelsea, were scheduled to return to Washington early Sunday afternoon.
