News Analysis: Critics of Health Industry Shaped Debate on Patients’ Rights. Good news in the struggle against ‘managed care’, an issue close to my heart. And, in case you were curious, for me and most doctors I know it’s not an issue of chafing under restrictions to our earning power, but — really — advocacy for our patients, plain and simple. A ‘patients’ bill of rights’ passed the Senate Friday and looks likely to have enough support in the Republican House as well, despite Li’l George’s scramble on behalf of the industry. Health care reform advocates’ crucial step appears to have been to succeed in driving a wedge between the insurance companies and their traditional allies the employers by immunizing the latter against the lawsuits to which the former will be susceptible. Pitiable contradictions in the HMOs’ arguments are apparent. New York Times