Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri last week crossed party lines to become the 51st member of the Senate to support the stronger Democratic version of a patient bill of rights, similar to the package supported in the House. But without the needed 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, congressional leaders seemed content to let an important piece of legislation die, as they have done so often this year.

Now, with only a few days left and after House and Senate versions of these patient protections have remained unresolved since last year, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana have offered as separate legislation a small piece of managed-care reform that all sides support. They would pass the internal and external appeals processes that give consumers the ability to resolve differences with their health plans, make clear that doctors ought to have the final say on medical decisions and establish a timely way to resolve complaints on which consumers and their health plans cannot reach agreement.

Some health plans already would meet these criteria, others would be required to give their patients a clear avenue for resolving issues such as denial of services or payment, use of emergency care, waiting times, operating facilities and general quality of care. The legislation would cover the 133 million Americans in employer-sponsored plans and, as a practical matter for internal review, would demand that the health plans ensure consumers receive timely notice for all decisions and be made aware of expedited processes for certain types of cases.

Sens. Collins and Breaux are right to try to rescue this part of the larger bills rather than let another year pass without resolution. The protections in these review processes are important because not only will they help the sick get appropriate services faster, they will ensure that these patients are heard by the organizations literally making life and death decisions. And by setting minimum standards, Congress relieves the better insurers of being burdened with the current reputations of their least consumer-friendly competitors.

A Congress that has been unable to resolve major patient protections after a year of trying can’t be expected to pass much of anything in only a couple of days. But the package by Sens. Collins and Breaux arrives with a long history of negotiation and bipartisan support. Congressional leaders should schedule it for a vote.