Evening Newscasts Wrap

W A S H I N G T O N, June 21, 2004 &#151; <br> -- A product of Noted Now and The Note

Morning Show Wrap

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LEADS:

ABC and CBS lead with violence in Iraq. ABC: Martha Raddatz/ CBS: Kimberly Dozier. NBC leads with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of HMOs. Pete Williams reports.

Peter Jennings: "The latest ABC News - Washington Post poll finds that more than half of Americans now believe that the war was not worth fighting."

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF HMOs:

Peter Jennings intro: "The court ruled that patients may not use state courts to sue HMOs for malpractice if they refuse to pay for treatment their doctors believe is necessary. It could save the HMOs millions of dollars." ABC's Manuel Medrano reports that the insurance industry is satisfied, having previously argued that lawsuits for damages only served to drive up medical costs. However, patients' rights advocates argue that because HMOs are profit driven, only the threat of lawsuits will hold them accountable for negligent decisions. There is now growing demand for lawmakers to pass a national patients' bill of rights.

NBC's Pete Williams reports Texas and a handful of other states allowed lawsuits against HMOs for malpractice to get compensation for harm suffered, but today the Supreme Court says state lawsuits will now violate federal law. Today the nation's HMOs say it will help quell the cost of Medicare. But patients' rights group say without lawsuits, patients lose leverage. NBC's Chip Reid reports on the effect the ruling will have on patients. With legal remedies for HMO malpractice all but eliminated today, in Congress some HMO critics say the decision is just what they need to reinvigorate the patients' rights movement. Congressman Dingle says he'll reintroduce the patient's bill of rights this week. Legal experts say without congressional action, patients will have little legal recourse after today's decision.

CBS' Wyatt Andrews reports the ruling is a "huge victory" for HMOs, but patients call the decision an "injustice." Andrews says this ends the Constitutional issue, but will "energize" it as a political/election issue.

NADER CHOSES A RUNNING MATE:

Peter Jennings reports "Ralph Nader has picked a running-mate. A Green Party activist from California, Peter Camejo. The choice increases Mr. Nader's chances of appearing on the ballot in at least 22 states where the Green Party has a line on the ballot. Mr. Camejo got nearly three percent of the vote in the California governor's race."