[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 23, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1570-H1571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PASS A PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about 
reforming HMOs.
  Last year I met a young mother in my hometown of Santa Fe. She was a 
single mother in her late twenties who was trying to raise a 7 year-old 
son while working full-time and attending school full-time as well. 
Now, as anyone will tell you, any young mother in this position would 
have her hands full. But what made this young woman unique was that her 
son had a serious medical condition that required access to very 
specific medical equipment and medication. She met with a family doctor 
who told them that her child could not lead a normal life without this 
very specific care. But when she went to her HMO to help pay for it, 
she received a letter saying her request had been denied. For months 
she tried to appeal, but it was to no avail. It was not until she 
threatened to wage a public relations campaign against the HMO and the 
local press that they reluctantly agreed to pay for the treatment. In 
the end it worked out for her and her young son, but for many, many 
more it does not.
  Far too often, Mr. Speaker, we hear stories of patients who are left 
seriously ill or injured as a result of medical negligence by HMOs. 
These people find their lives in upheaval, not because of a medical 
mishap on an operating table, but rather because a profit-driven 
insurance company bureaucrat was more concerned with the bottom line 
than their well-being.
  This must stop. We have got to put our partisan bickering aside and 
work towards a true bipartisan Patient Bill of Rights. The Patient Bill 
of Rights must allow doctors and patients to make the medical 
decisions. We must make sure that doctors and patients are once again 
allowed to make the medical decisions rather than insurance company 
bureaucrats. Provide the doctors, not the HMOs deciding the appropriate 
drugs for patients in their care. We must ensure that patients

[[Page H1571]]

who have drug benefits can get the prescription drug their doctor 
judges they need even if the drug is not on the HMOs' approved list. 
Access to specialists; we must allow patients, when necessary, to 
receive referrals to specialists outside their health plan at no extra 
cost to them.
  Specifically, Mr. Speaker, we must make sure that children have 
access to pediatric specialists. Holding HMOs accountable, we must 
provide patients with the ability to appeal treatment decisions through 
both internal and external grievance procedures, and we must give 
patients the right to hold insurance companies legally accountable when 
their treatment decisions result in injury or death to a patient.
  Pass a comprehensive Patient Bill of Rights. It is the only way we 
will ever be able to once again put patients before profits.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  (Mr. DIAZ-BALART addressed the House. His remarks will appear 
hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.)

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