[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1183-S1184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today I rise to express my 
support for S. 6, the Patients' Bill of Rights Act, a bill to guarantee 
all Americans with private health insurance, and particularly those in 
HMOs or other managed care plans, certain fundamental rights regarding 
their health care coverage.
  Over the past decease, our health care system has changed 
dramatically. Today, approximately 161 million Americans receive 
medical coverage through some type of managed care organization. 
Regrettably, the change has had some unfortunate consequences. Many in 
managed care plans experience increasing restrictions on their choice 
of doctors, growing limitations on their access to necessary treatment, 
and an overriding emphasis on cost cutting at the expense of quality.
  This shift to managed care, largely a response to rapidly increasing 
medical costs, has resulted in a health care system overly driven by 
the need to secure healthy profit margins. The impact these market 
forces have on the health care Americans receive must be moderated. 
Access to quality health care is an essential human need, and in a 
democratic society, it must be recognized as a fundamental right.

[[Page S1184]]

  Our bill would guarantee basic patient protections to all consumers 
of private insurance. It would ensure that patients receive the 
treatment they have been promised and have paid for. This bill would 
prevent HMOs and other health plans from arbitrarily interfering with 
doctors' decisions regarding the treatment their patients require.
  Our bill would restore patients' ability to trust that their health 
care practitioners advice is driven solely by health concerns, not cost 
concerns. HMOs and other health care plans would be prohibited from 
restricting which treatment options doctors may discuss with their 
patients. In addition, our bill would outlaw the use of financial 
incentives to reward doctors for cutting costs by recommending against 
potentially necessary treatments.
  One of the most critical patient protections that would be provided 
under our bill is guaranteed access to emergency care. The Patients' 
Bill of Rights Act would ensure that patients could go to any emergency 
room during a medical emergency without calling their health plan for 
permission first. Emergency room doctors could stabilize the patient 
and focus on providing them the care they need without worrying about 
payment until after the emergency has subsided.
  S. 6 would also ensure that health plans provide their customers with 
access to specialists when needed because of the complexity and 
seriousness of the patient's sickness. This provision is extremely 
important to ensure that persons suffering from serious, ongoing 
conditions, like cancer, have access to care by oncologists or other 
specialists.
  Many managed care plans provide exemplary coverage for their members, 
including innovative preventive care benefits, because they recognize 
that it is more efficient to keep people healthy than to treat them 
after they become ill. Unfortunately, not all plans are administered 
with this philosophy. Many Americans, enrolled in poorly run plans, are 
not obtaining the care they need and are entitled to receive. The 
improved health of millions of Americans depends on the enactment of 
this bill. It will establish Federal requirements ensuring that private 
health care plans provide their members with a minimum level of 
coverage. I urge my colleagues to join me in strongly supporting, S. 6, 
the Patients' Bill of Rights.

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