[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 91 (Thursday, June 24, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WE NEED A PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (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 today to talk about the Patients' Bill 
of Rights.
  As my colleagues know, health care in America works real well until 
we get sick or until we grow old. Then HMOs begin to tell us, ``Well, 
your concerns don't meet our criteria.'' or ``We're not going to refer 
you to the specialist that you need to see.'' or ``The person who is 
reviewing your case is not in; he's on vacation.'' Then our system 
breaks down critically.
  People are concerned about access to specialists. Sixty-two percent 
of the American population say they have a problem with HMOs because 
they cannot get access to needed specialists. ``Your specialist is not 
in our network.'' That is what we often hear.
  We need a Patients' Bill of Rights. We need to guarantee access to 
specialists. We need to guarantee redress in the courts when HMOs make 
decisions that hurt our health. We need to have a deterrent which says 
if they deny people access to specialists, if they deny people access 
to care, then they can be brought to a court of law, and they can be 
made to pay for it. That not only gives the victim a remedy, it gives 
the HMOs a strong incentive to provide high quality care.

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