This new 37-page report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation focuses on the different versions of H.R. 2990, patient protection legislation, passed in the House and Senate last year. A Conference Committee is presently working on reconciling the bills, and here readers can get an overview of their similarities and differences. In addition to this broad look at the legislation, the report...

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that patients cannot sue HMOs in Federal court for giving doctors financial incentives to hold down treatment costs. Reversing a Federal Appeals Court decision that argued such suits could be allowed, Justice Souter, writing for a unanimous Court, concluded that Congress's intent in passing a 1973 law paving the way for HMOs was to affirm the entire concept of...