[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H10774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MANAGED CARE REFORM NEEDED

  (Mr. GREEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN. Mr. Speaker, as we end this session of Congress, we need 
to celebrate our successes, but also recognize our failures.
  Many Americans are concerned about the status of their health care. 
They worry that in an emergency their managed care provider will not 
pay for the needed services. If a person has chest pains, how do they 
know it is indigestion instead of a heart attack? And yet, managed care 
may not pay for it. People are worried that nonmedical professionals 
are making their medical decisions instead of their doctors.
  Congress should have passed a managed care reform bill that protects 
patients and still keeps costs low. We need to ensure that all managed 
care patients are covered by consumer protections and have greater 
choice in deciding the type of health care they receive.
  If we truly believe in consumer choice, we must give workers more 
than the one option that their employers provide them, including 
greater access to specialists.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans are beginning to believe they are being herded 
through our health care system, and they are starting to lose trust in 
it. We should pass legislation next year that provides needed consumer 
protections for health care. We should have passed it in 1997, but 
maybe we will do a better job next year.

                          ____________________