MEDICAL PRIVACY: Jeffords Delays HELP Vote for 3rd Time
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Jim Jeffords (R-VT) yesterday postponed for the third time a committee vote on medical records privacy legislation, making a last-ditch effort to iron out differences between the parties. "It would be much more fruitful if we wait and come back tomorrow morning. We're very, very close [to consensus]," he said. Jeffords, who is seeking to bridge differences over giving patients the right to sue and allowing parental access to children's medical records, canceled yesterday's vote "after interested parties had already gathered in the committee room" (AP/Arizona Daily Star, 6/16).
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