[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 96 (Thursday, July 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   INTRODUCING THE INTEGRATED CHILD HEALTH CARE NETWORKS ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                            HON. LYNN SCHENK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 1994

  Ms. SCHENK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my good friend and 
colleague from the State of California [Mr. Lehman] to introduce the 
Integrated Child Health Care Networks Act of 1994.
  Mr. Speaker, across our Nation there is great change in health care 
delivery. More and more Americans are enrolled in health care networks 
based on capitated managed care. However, because children account for 
only 11 percent of national health care spending, financial incentives 
often lead health plans to focus on the needs of adults. Parents are 
left to ask the question: ``How can we ensure that our children have 
access to the full range of appropriate health care?'' The Integrated 
Child Health Care Networks Act seeks to answer that question.
  The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of 
Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions have issued a joint 
statement describing their vision of integrated child health networks--
networks that bring together pediatricians, family physicians, 
children's hospitals and others to focus on the special needs of 
children.
  We need to encourage the development of these integrated networks 
both as part of larger health plans and as independent networks. The 
Integrated Child Health Care Networks Act takes three steps in this 
direction. It would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to define integrated child health care networks. It would require 
health plans in which children are enrolled under Medicaid to 
demonstrate how they fulfill this definition. And, it would authorize 
funds for demonstrations across our country.
  Both the Ways and Means Committee's and the Education and Labor 
Committee's health care reform proposals include requirements that 
health plans give children access to both pediatric primary and 
specialty care providers. These provisions are consistent with the 
intent of my legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that children should be made a 
priority in our health care system. Regrettably, this is not the case 
today. Children are captive consumers of health care--they can not 
receive health insurance on their own, and they truly have no voice in 
the quality of the care they receive. In my hometown of San Diego, we 
are blessed with a wonderful children's hospital which thrives despite 
an enormous burden of uncompensated care. Children's Hospital of San 
Diego offers a wide range of general and speciality care to all 
children--regardless of their ability to pay. I wish that every 
community could have providers of this quality--unfortunately many do 
not because there is insufficient financial incentive.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say that in general I do not favor broad mandates 
or restrictions on managed care delivery systems. Over the past few 
months, we have seen successful efforts in various committees to place 
enormous, burdensome restrictions that would threaten the viability of 
managed care. I do not support efforts to unravel the managed care 
networks which are fast becoming the rule, rather than the exception 
across our country.
  However, I do believe that the Federal Government has a 
responsibility to ensure that these networks serve the very special 
needs of those who can not speak for themselves--our children. Children 
can not demand that their health plan offer a sufficient number of 
pediatric specialists; they lack the raw purchasing power to demand 
access to the broadest range of services. And, sadly, parents are often 
incapable of exercising such influence on behalf of their children. The 
Integrated Child Health Care Networks Act represents a narrowly drawn 
effort to ensure that children's needs are not ignored by our health 
care system.
  As I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, both the Ways and Means Committee and 
the Education and Labor Committee have included provisions in their 
versions of health care reform legislation that are consistent with the 
intent of my legislation. I urge all my colleagues to pay special 
attention to our children in our national debate on health reform.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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