Until now, people who went to a doctor might be called patients; Congress may soon call them rights holders. Three “patient bill of rights” proposals have emerged in a GOP-controlled Congress, demonstrating either a philosophical shift in the role of government in health care or another set of polling numbers showing the topic of prime concern to the voting public.

Having killed tobacco legislation and nearly killed campaign-finance reform, Congress has an opportunity in health care to show that it can work together long enough to pass major legislation. The proposals — one from Democrats, two from the GOP — came after President Clinton last November described the need for consumers to be protected from their health maintenance organizations.

HMOs, predictably, don’t like the proposals that, for instance, could eliminate the law that prohibits individuals from suing managed care companies or improves patients’ access to specialists. Other provisions would require insurers to pay for emergency care, remove restrictions on communication between providers and patients and increase the privacy of individuals’ medical information.

Some of the better plans already offer these advantages; the proposals in Congress, which vary to a degree but all aim in the same direction, would ensure that lesser plans offered improved service. HMOs, the industry that brought the dreaded Harry and Louise ads that did so much to harm Clinton’s health care reform, argue that consumers would pay far more if any of the congressional proposals are approved.

Perhaps. Or perhaps Congress will see cost-containment at the corporate level as the next big piece of health-care legislation.

Back when everyone had fee-for-service health plans, consumers might have grumbled over the cost of care, but at least they knew they could get the services they wanted. Now, health care is still expensive, except services are more regulated and the money is less often going to the local doctor who saved your child’s life and more often going to some health-care lawyers in New Jersey. How long is the public likely to put up with that?

The patients’ bill of rights moves the debate in the right direction. It puts patients and doctors ahead of lawyers and accountants when it comes to health care. That sounds like the right idea.