[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 87 (Friday, June 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7282-S7284]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  Mr. DURBIN. But there is another issue that haunts American families 
beyond the violence in our schools and beyond the question of gun 
safety. It is the issue of health insurance.
  Mr. President, 115 million Americans, when asked, said that either 
they personally or a member of their family had run into serious 
problems when it came to health insurance and health insurance 
companies.
  I started speaking on the floor about this issue just this week, and 
I have started getting letters from my State of Illinois and across the 
country. People said: Yes, you are right. Let me read you two of these 
letters to give you an idea.
  Here is one that comes from Raymond and Marianne Eberhardt. These are 
folks who, frankly, could be any of us. They write:

       Enclosed is a picture of Theresa, needless to say she is a 
     very beautiful child. She was hospitalized from September 2, 
     1998 to February 15, 1999 due to fighting the insurance 
     company for certain provisions we could not do without in our 
     home. Her daddy is a police officer and [her] mommy stays at 
     home.
       She most likely would not have had to be vented--

  She is on a ventilator.

     if she were able to leave when the doctors had said she could 
     go. However, we had to fight and fight with the insurance 
     company for things that the doctors had said were needed. So 
     we fought for 2\1/2\ months.

  Can you imagine, as parents, fighting to keep this lovely little girl 
alive, getting up every morning and saying a prayer that she will 
survive, and then getting on the telephone to fight with the insurance 
company for the basics that the doctors say she needs to continue 
living? Their battle went on for 2\1/2\ months. She writes:

       We eventually did get everything that we needed, except it 
     was a very long battle. Can you imagine having your family 
     separated that long because the insurance company did not 
     want to help? Seven months is a long time for a family to 
     have to go through something like this. Theresa caught RSV in 
     the hospital--

  This is a malady which clearly is very serious.

     while we were waiting for the appeals to go through.

  That is, with the insurance company.

       That is why she is now vented and has a trach. Theresa 
     copes extremely well with what all has been done to her. It 
     does not

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     fade her in the least. She has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 
     1. She is very strong willed and is a joy to be around. I 
     hope something can be done in regards to insurance companies 
     helping families more and be a little more compassionate. I 
     know in my heart we would have lost her if we did not get the 
     proper equipment. I am thankful to them that they eventually 
     changed their minds. I just wish it did not have to take so 
     long.

  As a parent, I have sat in a waiting room at the hospital with my 
daughter in surgery. My wife and I have been through that several 
times. You will never in your life feel as helpless as that moment. You 
will never feel as vulnerable. You pray to God that everything turns 
out right. You hope those doctors and nurses and technicians who are in 
that operating room are the best and the brightest that could possibly 
be there. But you don't want to sit there and have to worry about 
whether you are going to have to fight with an insurance company over 
whether or not that surgery will go forward or whether, when that 
surgery is finished, your child receives the kind of treatment that is 
essential.
  Here is another letter we received:

       This letter is to introduce you to our precious angel child 
     Roberto Antonio Cortes. He is 11 months old now and is so 
     special to us. He was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy 
     Type I, the Werdnig Hoffman disease. He is currently on a 
     home ventilator.
       My husband, Rigo, is self-employed at this time and doing 
     contract work out of our house.

  They indicated they would be more than happy to talk to our office 
about the battles they have faced with insurance companies.
  Here is another letter from Addison, IL, Dolores Pavletich:

       Dear Senator Durbin,
       Just a note to thank you for taking a stand on Health Care 
     Issues.
       Last night when I returned home from work and turned on TV, 
     I caught part of C-Span where you, Senator Kennedy, 
     Senator Schumer, Senator Daschle [and Senator Boxer] were 
     asking to negotiate the Health Care Issues. When you 
     spoke, you addressed all the issues so many of us are 
     concerned with. I have recently had such bad experiences 
     with Insurance Companies. I started by choosing a doctor 
     from a book, being treated by him, and half way through 
     treatment was told the doctor was dropped [by the 
     insurance company] and I would have to change doctors or 
     they would not pay [for it.] I did not think it was fair 
     to stop treatment and start over with another doctor. I 
     then chose a doctor only to find out that the hospital he 
     was on staff was not [covered by my insurance company] 
     therefore, any tests or blood workup could not be done at 
     his hospital. Blood tests would have to be sent to a lab, 
     and if I had to be admitted to a hospital, I would have to 
     choose yet another doctor.
       I am a 57 year old woman, on my own, and now find that the 
     company I work for is down sizing and my job may be 
     eliminated soon. I cannot retire yet, am not eligible for 
     medicare and with only unemployment cannot afford Cobra 
     [Insurance] because of it being so expensive [and I do not 
     know if I can afford it.]
       I am so interested in the Health Care Issue I would do 
     anything to help make life easier for so many people. If 
     there is anything I can contribute towards this issue I would 
     gladly devote as much time as possible to assure everyone the 
     right to choose [their doctor, their insurance company.] I 
     wish I could speak to you in person to tell you what people 
     are being faced with today.
       Please continue to speak for the majority of people in this 
     country. We've chosen you to do what you do best and we look 
     forward to you to speak for us.

  That is why I am here on this floor. We have a choice. We have a 
thing that we can do that can make a difference. There is a Patients' 
Bill of Rights the Democrats have introduced, which has been endorsed 
by over 200 major health organizations, which will finally step forward 
and stand up for consumers and stand up for families and say we are 
going to address the basics. We are going to make sure you can choose 
the specialist you need. We are going to make sure when you sit down in 
the office with the doctor that you get straight talk and honest 
answers. You aren't going to hear a doctor parrot some insurance 
company line instead of telling you the truth about your medical care 
and what you need.
  We want to make certain that when you go to an emergency room, you go 
to the one you need for your family because of medical necessity. You 
don't fumble through the dashboard looking for the health insurance 
policy to figure out which hospital you can go to without paying for it 
out of your pocket.
  These are the basics, to make sure that the women across America who 
trust their medical care to an OB/GYN can continue to pick that doctor 
they trust, the doctor they have confidence in, and not be told by the 
insurance company to pick up and move; to make certain that doctors, 
when they say surgery is necessary, won't be overruled by some clerk 
sitting in an insurance company office in Omaha, NE. The decision 
should be made by our doctors, not by insurance company clerks.
  This debate is central to really giving peace of mind to families 
across America. Why haven't we debated it for over 2 years? Because the 
insurance companies do not want this issue to come to the floor of the 
Senate. They do not want to face the votes which we would call for on 
the floor of the Senate.

  The Patients' Bill of Rights that the Democrats support is a bill 
which gives to those who are providing health care fair treatment. 
Right now if something happens that is wrong in medical treatment, who 
gets sued? The doctors and the hospitals. But what if the insurance 
company made the wrong decision? Under the law, they are protected. The 
current law protects them. They can't be held accountable. Is that 
fair? Is that American? I don't believe it is. We are each held 
accountable for our actions, as every business is held accountable. 
There is no reason why health insurance companies should be exempt from 
that responsibility.
  Here is what faces us: Will we, in the closing weeks before we break 
for the Fourth of July or our August recess, have the political courage 
to bring this issue to the floor? We spent 5 days debating giving 
protection to computer companies against being sued for Y2K problems, 5 
days. We were worried about computer companies. Well, maybe we should 
be. But can't we spend 5 hours on this debate to stand up for families 
across America who want protection when it comes to the health care 
that means so much?
  Look at these photographs. Imagine what life is like battling every 
single day with the insurance company and then praying to God, as you 
go to sleep at night, that this beautiful little baby will be alive in 
the morning. That is the reality of health care in America.
  I challenge the Republican leadership, challenge them to bring to the 
floor of the Senate within the next week the Patients' Bill of Rights. 
Let us have this debate. Let us face the tough votes. That is what we 
are here for, for goodness' sake. This is supposed to be a deliberative 
body where we debate and argue and come to the best conclusion for the 
people we represent.
  I will stand behind the Democratic Patients' Bill of Rights, because 
I believe it is the best one. I believe it is the only one that is 
honest and complete and will help American families. The Republican 
plan, as this chart indicates, would leave over 100 million Americans 
behind, would not give them the protections which we believe are 
essential to health insurance.
  It is true they protect 48 million Americans, just as we do, but they 
leave behind 113 million who are protected by the Democratic bill.
  I think it is time to have this debate, for the good of families 
across America, for the Pavletichs in Addison, IL, for the Cortez 
family from Elk Grove Village, for the Eberhardts, who have written to 
me and told me their story, from Yorkville, IL.
  I promise you this: As long as my voice holds out, I will be on my 
feet on the Senate floor saying to my colleagues, we have a 
responsibility. The 105th Congress left town a little over 6 months ago 
and did nothing. It was a do-nothing Congress. This Congress is not 
going to leave town without addressing this critical issue, this issue 
that means so much to Americans across this country and people who 
continue to write on a daily basis.
  I will close by saying this: Keep the letters and photographs coming 
in. As long as you will send me your stories of your family struggling 
to provide quality health care, I will continue to stand on this floor 
and tell these stories, in the hopes that my colleagues in the Senate 
will address this important issue.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be able to 
continue as in morning business for 15 minutes.

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  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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