[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H6076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this could be your story, the 
story of the over-the-counter prescription that the Republicans are 
offering the American people with health care.
  You could have the story of the witness yesterday in our managed care 
hearings whose baby died in her stomach in the eighth month because her 
HMO refused to give her the kind of care needed for high-risk 
pregnancy. Maybe you would be the young student who fell off the bar 
doing acrobatics and gymnastics, and Dr. Wei, a witness who came to our 
attention, found her in great pain with little pulse. When they called 
for an ambulance, the HMO said, ``Oh, she doesn't need an ambulance. We 
know she is nine-years old, we know she is crying in pain, we know she 
has no pulse, but she doesn't need an ambulance.'' Or maybe you might 
be the person who needed breast cancer surgery and fought with your HMO 
down to the very wire, when it was too late almost, until your 
Congressperson had to call and get that kind of surgery.
  The Republican so-called bill dealing with health care leaves my 
constituents and leaves all Americans with no water in their cup. I am 
not going to support an empty cup. Support the Democratic Patients' 
Bill of Rights. Stand for what is right.

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