[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 91 (Thursday, June 24, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MANAGED CARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, at first it was campaign finance reform, 
then it was gun safety and school violence; now it is health care 
reform where we see an unfortunate recurring pattern taking place by 
our Republican leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, on issue after issue, the leadership uses its power to 
stomp out any real discussion on the House floor. Once again, those of 
us who care about patients' rights have no alternative, no alternative 
but to sign a discharge petition to force a discussion on managed care 
reform, because, my colleagues, serious proposals for meaningful health 
care reform have been rejected by the Republican leadership.
  Why? I am not sure, but it certainly looks like they are trying to 
protect the profits of the managed care industry. And that is 
protecting managed care industry's profits over the protection of all 
of our constituents, every single Member of the House of 
Representatives and the people we work for.
  While they claim reform would actually allow the Federal Government 
to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, our families are 
left unprotected.
  Democrats in Congress have been waiting 2 years to pass a Patients' 
Bill of Rights, because we are ready. We are ready to improve 
Americans' access to health care. On the other hand, the leadership in 
this Congress has taken their sham bill from last year, broken it into 
eight pieces, eight pieces that they want to sell this year as health 
care reform.
  Well, we have to be clear about this. There is no real change in 
their piecemeal approach. Their same refusal to protect doctors and 
patients from the insult of an insurance clerk's ability to dictate 
medical treatment procedures remains. The American Medical Association, 
in fact, says that their package falls short of the mark; says it does 
not solve any of the problems our doctors and patients have.
  It is time, Mr. Speaker, to put doctors and patients back in charge 
of our health care system. There must be enforceable rights to make 
consumer protections real for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that many States have passed legislation making 
a patchwork of protections. This patchwork does not provide a good fix. 
This fix does not work for over 160 million Americans who need a real 
effort to fix the problems of managed care.
  While there are many top-notch managed care organizations, many in my 
own district; I represent Sonoma and Marin Counties in California, just 
north of the Golden Gate Bridge; in other areas, there are too many 
horror stories that we hear across this country. Doctors tell us horror 
stories about how they are gagged by insurance companies, companies 
that dictate what they can tell their patients, what they can tell 
their patients about their patients' treatment options. They tell us 
that a patient's treatment decisions are often overruled by a clerk, 
and that patients are denied a specialist's care, and that patients are 
shuttled out of hospitals before full recovery.
  Americans are demanding, they are demanding that this Congress take 
action and that we do it now. But instead, the Republican leadership 
has provided legislation that does not ensure that patients have the 
right to see a specialist, nor do they prevent insurance companies from 
continuing to send women who have had mastectomies home early, against 
the advice of their physician.
  Under the Republicans' bill, if patients are denied care, they would 
not have the right to a meaningful external appeal.
  That is why we need to debate managed care reform. That is why we 
need a Patients' Bill of Rights. This legislation will make sure that 
doctors and patients are free to make decisions about the patient's 
health. The Patients' Bill of Rights will ensure that patients can 
openly discuss with their doctors their treatment options. The 
Patients' Bill of Rights will ensure that patients receive uniform 
information about their health plan, and they will be able to go to 
emergency rooms when the need arises, see a specialist, and seek a 
remedy from the courts when the claims have been unfairly denied.
  It is time to put doctors and patients back in charge of our health 
care system. I urge my colleagues to support a full debate on managed 
care reform and support a Patients' Bill of Rights. I urge the Speaker 
and I urge my colleagues to give the American people what they want. I 
urge my colleagues to work for managed care reform.

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