[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          REMOVAL OF NAME OF MEMBER AS COSPONSOR OF H.R. 1415

  Mr. McINTOSH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be 
removed as cosponsor from H.R. 1415.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  (Mr. McINTOSH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. McINTOSH. Mr. Speaker, my district health care advisory 
committee, consisting of health industry professionals, insurers and 
providers, has advised me that PARCA, H.R. 1415, is not the best means 
to protect patients rights and has recommended that I withdraw from the 
bill.
  However, I do support patient protections and am submitting for the 
Record a statement of principles that is a small government approach to 
protecting patients' rights and health care reform.

     Health Care Statement of Principles: What Health Care Reform 
                   Legislation Must Include This Year

       1. Increasing the number of insured Americans by providing 
     everyone access to tax-free insurance. Millions of Americans 
     receive a tax free employer-provided health insurance 
     coverage. However, this option is not available to everyone. 
     As a matter of fairness, it should be. The self-employed and 
     individual workers must be able to purchase fully deductible 
     insurance. This would vastly decrease the roles of America's 
     uninsured. Moreover, increasing the number of insured 
     children can be achieved by making children's health care 
     completely tax deductible.
       2. Individual choice: Individuals must be able to choose 
     the health coverage that meets their needs as well as the 
     needs of their family. Americans should be able to select 
     from a menu of benefits in any health coverage plan, 
     including a point-of-service option. They should be allowed 
     to choose from plans available in the marketplace, based on 
     price competition and personal choice. Especially important 
     in this effort is eliminating government restrictions, such 
     as innovative health care plans like Medical Savings 
     Accounts.
       3. Patient access: Americans should have the right to see 
     the doctor of their choice. Americans should have the 
     flexibility and accessibility to see their own doctors or 
     specialists at an affordable rate. Health care plans should 
     not discriminate on the basis of license in reimbursing 
     eligible network health care providers for performing a 
     covered service.
       4. Freedom of Speech: Americans must have the right to talk 
     freely with their doctors. Health care plans should not 
     include ``gag clauses'' that restrict a physician's ability 
     to communicate to their patients. Patients have the right to 
     know all possible options concerning their care.
       5. Quality health care at lower costs. Health care costs 
     have skyrocketed in large part because of the proliferation 
     of litigation by unscrupulous trial lawyers. The abuse of the 
     system has made all of us victims of high health care costs. 
     Congress must enact medical malpractice reform and common 
     sense legal reform for life-saving bio-medical materials. The 
     revised standard of liability should apply to third party 
     health care plans that make medical judgements on applicable 
     care.
       6. Lower Cost Options for Healthy Americans. Americans 
     should not be punished for being in good health. Those 
     Americans who look after their health by eating healthy, 
     exercising, and not smoking should be rewarded with less 
     expensive health care for their efforts.
       7. Elderly Americans and Doctors Must Have Freedom to 
     Choose. Section 4507 of the Balanced Budget Act, which 
     forbids doctors from treating any Medicare patients if they 
     see one Medicare patient on a private contracting basis, 
     should be repealed. Patients must not be coerced by the 
     federal government from seeing each other if it best serves 
     their health care needs.
       9. Freedom of Information. American health care consumers 
     shall have the right to a clear and concise description of 
     what is and is not covered by any health plan. In addition, 
     all health care plans shall provide full disclosure of the 
     professional qualifications and performance records of their 
     health care providers as well as their practices and 
     procedures.

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