Patients' rights: Ad's impact was lost credibility

The American Assn. of Health Plans' "Lost & Found" television campaign against patients' rights legislation hurt the credibility of the nation's largest managed care trade group.

Editorial. May 8, 2000.

How much damage to patients' rights could 49 words do in 30 seconds?

The nation's largest managed care trade group, the American Assn. of Health Plans, placed a $200,000 bet to find out, when it launched a two-week, national television ad campaign recently. It appears the AAHP's bet was a bust. What got hurt most is AAHP's own credibility.

AAHP's "Lost & Found" ad

The AAHP's "Lost & Found" ad was a peculiar mix of two elements, the landmark Institute of Medicine report on patient safety and the AAHP's own pet safety issue -- keeping the AAHP's member organizations safe from lawsuits brought by patients who have been harmed by health plan decisions.

The backdrop to the ads is the ongoing negotiation between the House and Senate conferees over Patients' Bill of Rights legislation. A key issue, still unresolved, is whether those patient lawsuits, now blocked by federal law, will be allowed.

The IOM report demands serious attention to how to best improve patient safety. The AAHP reduced the report to a cheap prop to further its own campaign of dodging accountability for its members.

Although the vague wording of the ad might be lost on much of the public, anyone with even a passing knowledge of the specifics of patients' rights legislation would recognize its implications. The headline on USA Today's story announcing the campaign got right to the point: "Ads could derail patients' rights bill."

A joint letter from leaders of the AMA, the American Hospital Assn. and the American Nurses Assn. was blunt in response to the campaign: "Public confidence in the health care delivery system should not be threatened or sacrificed for political benefit. The AAHP has crossed that sacred line. ... Surely, no political success in Washington can be worth its cost if it means discouraging patients from getting health care when they need it."

Also in the wake of the ads, the Federation of American Health Systems, an advocacy group for for-profit hospitals, pulled out of a joint ad campaign with the AAHP on Medicare cuts. Hospital purchasing alliance Premier Inc. cited the ads as reason to quit the anti-mandate Health Benefits Coalition, which includes the AAHP among its members. A bipartisan group of House members also held a news conference to call for the ad to be dropped. An analysis of the ill-fated ad campaign in the National Journal asked in its headline what the AAHP should be asking itself about the acrimony-generating campaign: "A cure worse than the disease?"

The response from AAHP President and CEO Karen Ignagni contained equal parts of bewilderment and bravado in the face of the criticism. The trade group didn't pull the ads but hasn't announced an expansion of the campaign (if it expected a groundswell of public response, none has been reported so far). Ignagni's call for health care leaders to take a second look at the ad campaign also apparently fell flat. AMA EVP E. Ratcliffe Anderson Jr., MD, wrote back: "Having reviewed your tape, I remain appalled."

What, in retrospect, may be most incredible about "Lost & Found" are Ignagni's own words in launching the ad: "Our campaign ... will signal a new opportunity in health care -- one predicated on common ground."

If the AAHP truly sought common ground, the "Lost & Found" ad was clearly not the way to find it.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

AAHP's "Lost & Found" ad

Video: Doctor with a patient in surgery.
Audio: Medical mistakes can kill.

Video: Medical instruments on table.
Audio: The Institute of Medicine reports medical mistakes can be reduced.

Video: U.S. Capitol.
Audio: Washington prefers more lawsuits.

Video: Doctor and nurse walking down hall.
Audio: But lawsuits don't save lives -- doctors do.

Video: Man walking on treadmill with doctor talking.
Audio: Get patients the care they need, instead of lawyers getting the clients they want.

Video: AAHP logo.
Audio: Let's have a real health care debate. Call Congress now.

Source: American Assn. of Health Plans