[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               HMO REFORM

  (Mr. WYNN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, now that Congress is back in session, the 
debate over HMO reform will really begin. It will really heat up. We 
will hear from the Republican side of the aisle a lot of gimmicks. They 
will talk about health marks, and they will talk about medical savings 
accounts.
  What we have to understand is that the key to HMO reform is simply 
this: timely access to needed medical services and the ability to 
enforce that right. That is what the Democratic plan would do, because 
it would give patients the right to sue HMOs when HMOs make decisions 
that deny their patients' rights and adversely affect their health 
care.
  The Republican plan does not offer that benefit because they are 
afraid to take on the HMOs and the insurance industry.
  Let me give my colleagues an example in my district. It is a typical 
example. A young man is in a bicycle accident. He faces facial 
disfigurement. His medical doctor says he ought to take a certain 
course of treatment, but the HMO says no, we are not going to pay for 
that treatment.
  Let me tell my colleagues, if the HMO could be sued for failing to 
allow necessary treatment, they would change their tune. That is what 
the debate for HMO reform is all about. I hope we will adopt the 
Democratic approach.

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