Patients’ Right to Freedom of Choice of Providers

Patients’ right to freedom of choice of providers is also firmly rooted in ethical principles.

Patients have the right to choose the providers that render care to them. This right is extremely important. Just imagine if you were told that you had to receive care from a specific provider that you did not choose, especially if you thought the care provided was substandard. And yet, at least anecdotally, providers often forget the importance of this right and ride roughshod over it. After all, even patients enrolled in managed care organizations (MCOs), including Medicare Advantage Plans, have the right to freedom of choice. They can always decide to pay for care themselves even if MCOs will not.