[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H6073-H6074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MANAGED CARE REFORM

  (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, for months we have heard and been hearing 
about how expensive the Patients' Bill of Rights is. The insurance 
industry, managed care organizations, HMOs, and big business have 
repeatedly tried to scare the American public, saying that the bill 
would dramatically raise premiums and force employers to drop health 
insurance coverage for their employees.
  Last week we found out how much dramatically really is. The 
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, after thoroughly analyzing 
each section of

[[Page H6074]]

the Dingell-Ganske Patients' Bill of Rights, has determined that the 
bill would cost beneficiaries only $2 a month. That is right. For the 
cost of a Happy Meal at McDonald's, patients in managed care would have 
what they need: accountability; access to specialists; no gag rule on 
their providers; and a swift insurer appeals process.
  It is the simple, most logical provision in the Patients' Bill of 
Rights because it puts the HMOs on the same level as every other 
industry in this country. They have to be accountable for their actions 
and their decisions. The bottom line is if you are making medical 
decisions, you should be held accountable. If you are not making 
medical decisions, you should not be accountable.

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