Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:On a more positive note, the Clinton administration is about to lea
Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:On a more positive note, the Clinton administration is about to leave us several new national monuments—meaning protected public lands. Clinton has once again outplayed Congress on the budget and is now free to fade as much heat as he wants for whatever he can do between now and Jan. 20. Say what you will about the man, he is a master politician.He is also leaving us a spiffy new set of rules to protect our medical privacy. Naturally, the insurance companies and the HMOs are opposed to the new rules, but since it has taken five years to get this far, we can only hope the president-elect has enough sense to leave the rules in place. George W. Bush can come in with clean hands and blame it all on Clinton, saying, “Sorry, it was a done deal before I got here.” Essentially, the new rules require written consent from patients before disclosure of their medical records, even for routine purposes like the payment of claims. And yes, there is some cost attached, though not as much as the health-care industry is claiming.And in the meantime, I wish each and every one of you (even the Republicans) a very merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, joyous Kwanzaa, feliz Navidad, reflective Ramadan and whatever it is that you pagans do at this time of year. May we all have a lovely time and treat one another with special kindness.—December 2000 -- source link