[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 95 (Thursday, July 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WE NEED A PATIENT PROTECTION ACT NOW

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, we need a Patient Protection Act. 
I know because I have heard from the people in my district. I have 
heard from a mother with a sick baby who had to travel 30 miles to a 
hospital when there was a hospital nearby. I heard from a doctor who 
had to fight to get coverage to treat his cancer. Mr. Speaker, too many 
patients are paying more and getting less. Under the present system, 
too many patients are getting a raw deal. They need a fair deal, a good 
deal, a better deal.
  If insurance companies want to make decisions about medical care for 
our children and our families, then they must be held accountable. The 
Democratic bill will give us those rights. The Republican bill will 
deny them.
  Mr. Speaker, we need a real Patient Protection Act and we need it 
now; not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, but now.

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