[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I believe there is no greater issue that 
confronts this Congress and the Nation than health care reform. This is 
not a Democratic issue, this is not a Republican issue, but rather, a 
matter whose urgency and scope should unite all of us in a bipartisan 
effort to ensure that each and every American can obtain affordable 
coverage to meet their health care needs.
  This is why I am pleased to join the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Dingell) and my colleagues as an original cosponsor of the Patients' 
Bill of Rights. Mr. Speaker, my constituents, the hardworking people of 
Queens and the Bronx, strongly support the enactment of comprehensive 
health care legislation, as the vast majority of them are in favor of 
the Patients' Bill of Rights.
  We must pass legislation that guarantees access to specialized care, 
common sense emergency room treatment, and the ability of women to have 
direct access to OB-GYN care. We as a Congress must protect the 
millions of Americans who are in managed care programs, and provide 
them with the highest quality of health care possible.

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