[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5070-H5071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ON THE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (Mr. ALLEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, it is tough to move from basketball back to 
health care. Perhaps the connection is that last night the 
congressional baseball game was held and it was injury free, a very 
remarkable feat.

[[Page H5071]]

  Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis of confidence in American health care 
today. A majority of consumers believe that insurance plans often 
compromise the quality of care to save money. Managed care must be more 
than managed cost.
  I am concerned that we are going to see a fig tree growing in the 
House of Representatives, proposals from the other side, from the 
Republican leadership, that are no more than fig leaves. We have seen 
it with campaign finance reform. We can see it coming with tobacco. It 
may come with HMOs as well.
  The solution to our problem is the Democrat-sponsored Patients' Bill 
of Rights Act of 1998. It provides access to necessary care. It ensures 
access to specialists. It provides direct access to a specialist for 
patients with serious ongoing conditions. It would allow women to see 
their obstetrician or gynecologist without prior authorization, and it 
requires access to and payment for emergency room service. It also 
provides a fair and timely appeals process when health care plans deny 
care, and it provides protections for the patient-provider 
relationship.
  It does that by banning gag clauses. It protects providers who 
advocate on behalf of their patients, and prevents drive-through 
mastectomies.
  I urge my colleagues to supported the Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 
1998.

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