[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H6077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                           HEALTH CARE 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, I rise to join the debate on health care 
reform in America.
  On the one hand we have the Democrats' plan, which is patient 
protection. On the other hand we have the Republican plan, which is 
basically insurance industry protection. It really amounts to this: 
When HMOs make health care decisions instead of doctors, they ought to 
be liable.
  When a young man in my district had a bicycle accident, the HMO 
wanted to make the decision that he not receive the treatment that his 
doctor recommended. If that young man is disfigured, the HMO ought to 
pay the cost, and that essentially is the difference in today's debate.
  We guarantee patients' rights, because if we cannot enforce a right, 
it is not really a right, and the way we enforce it is the ability to 
go into one's State court and say look, the HMO made the decision, the 
HMO denied the doctor's recommendation, and the HMO ought to be held 
accountable. That is real HMO reform; that is not what the Republicans 
want to do.
  The reason we need accountability is so that the HMOs have an 
incentive to do the right thing, listen to the doctors. If we take away 
the incentive, we take away our ability to enforce our rights. I urge 
us today to pass real health care reform, not insurance industry 
protection.

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