[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 82 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5821-S5822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I will take a few moments on another 
subject, the issue of our Patients' Bill of Rights.
  A short while ago, we had an opportunity to vote on the issues on a 
Patients' Bill of Rights. This was basically as a result of the fact 
that the conference in which we are involved had reached a dead end and 
was going nowhere. It wasn't only my assessment of that development, 
but the conclusion of a great number of the conferees as well, not just 
the Democrats, but also those who had supported an effective Patients' 
Bill of Rights in the House of Representatives, Dr. Norwood and Dr. 
Ganske. We offered an amendment on the floor, and we failed by one 
vote.
  Now we understand the Republicans have decided that effectively they 
are not going to participate with the Democrats at all. They are 
writing their own bill. We had indicated we were still willing to 
participate. We wanted to get a bill.
  It is interesting that the 300 organizations that represent the 
doctors, the patients, the nurses, the health delivery community, have 
all been in support of our position. They have not had a single medical 
organization that has supported the position taken by the Republican 
leadership in the Senate.
  When we talk about bipartisanship, I think we ought to do what the 
medical professions, the patient organizations, and common sense tell 
us to do--to listen to doctors and nurses who have had training and 
follow their recommendations, rather than accountants for HMOs. That is 
what this bill is basically about.
  In the Patients' Bill of Rights, we have outlined the various areas 
where we think patients need protection. We have asked those who have 
not been supportive of our position to spell out which protections they 
don't wish to provide for the American people. One, for example, is to 
make sure all patients are going to be covered. That is a rather basic 
and fundamental issue. It shouldn't take a long time to debate and 
discuss that. The House bill provided for comprehensive coverage for 
all of the patients and holds plans accountable. That seems to be 
common sense. Again, that was in the bipartisan bill in the House of 
Representatives.
  In the category of access for specialists, we see a situation where a 
child has cancer; we want to make sure the child will see a pediatric 
oncologist. They ought to be able to get the specialist. We certainly 
have that opportunity for Members of the Senate. We ought to be able to 
understand that. We should guarantee the specialists.
  Access to clinical trials. We are in a period of great opportunities 
for breakthroughs in research. The only way that breakthroughs get from 
the laboratory to the patient is through clinical trials. We ought to 
guarantee it. We don't need to study the question of clinical trials.
  Access to OB/GYNs. That is common sense.
  Prohibition on gag rules. We are going to take the gag off our 
doctors who have been trained to provide the best in medicine. They 
shouldn't be gagged by accountants for HMOs.
  Emergency room access, another area of importance.
  These are some of the points that are guaranteed.
  Perhaps some of these are protections that our Republican friends 
don't want to guarantee. We wish they would state which ones. Why do we 
have to do it behind closed doors? Why not come out here and say which 
ones they don't want to guarantee, have some votes in the Senate, and 
then get legislation passed?
  However, we have been buried in the darkness of our offices. We ought 
to have an opportunity to have matters decided or stated. These 
protections should be available to every American. Those Members 
representing our side of the aisle are committed to that. Republicans 
and Democrats alike in the House of Representatives were in support of 
it. A third of the Republicans voted for that and a few courageous 
Republicans in this body supported that position as well.

[[Page S5822]]

  We should get about the business of closing this legislation down. 
Every day it delays people are being hurt. It is wrong. We ought to get 
about doing the people's business and pass a strong Patients' Bill of 
Rights.
  To reiterate, the American people have waited more than 3 years for 
Congress to send the President a Patient's Bill of Rights that protects 
all patients and holds HMOs and other health plans accountable for 
their actions.
  Every day that the conference on the Patient's Bill of Rights fails 
to produce agreement on meaningful patient protections, 60,000 more 
patients endure added pain and suffering. More than 40,000 patients 
report a worsening of their condition as a result of health plan 
abuses.
  By all accounts, Republicans are working amongst themselves on the 
Patients' Bill of Rights. They are working in the middle of the night, 
behind closed doors, to produce a partisan bill that will surely fail 
the test of true reform. The crocodile tears were flowing form the eyes 
of the Senate Republican leadership on June 8 when we took the 
bipartisan, House-passed Managed Care Consensus Act to the floor for 
its first Senate vote. That legislation, which passed the House with 
overwhelming bipartisan support last year, is a sensible compromise 
that extends meaningful protections to all patients and guarantees that 
health plans re held accountable when their abuses result in injury or 
death.
  Democratic conferees sent a letter to Senator Nickles on June 13. In 
that letter, we reiterated that we remained ready to negotiate on 
serious proposals that provide a basis for achieving strong, effective 
protections. But the assistant majority leader has not responded. The 
silence is deafening.
  We have been forewarned of what to expect from a partisan bill. The 
American people won't stand for a sham bill, and we won't either.
  Make no mistake. We want a bill that can be signed into law this 
year. There is not much time left. We need to act now.
  The Republican leadership continues to refuse to guarantee meaningful 
protections to all Americans. They continue to delay and deny action on 
this critical issue. This debate is about real people. It's about 
women, children, and families.
  The gap between the Senate Republican plan and the bipartisan 
legislation enacted by the House in the Norwood-Dingell bill is wide. 
And the intransigence of the Republican conferees is preventing 
adequate progress.
  Republican conferees steadfastly refuse to cover all Americans. Their 
flawed approach leaves out two-thirds of those with private health 
insurance--more than 120 million Americans.
  The Senate Republican leadership says no to farmers, truck drivers, 
police officers, teachers, home day care providers, fire fighters, and 
countless others who buy insurance on their own or work for state or 
local governments.
  The bipartisan legislation that we support and which we voted on in 
the Senate on June 8 covers everyone. But the Republican leadership 
said no.
  The protections in the House-passed bill are urgently needed by 
patients across the country. Yet, the Republican leadership is adopting 
the practice of delay and denial that HMOs so often use themselves to 
delay and deny patients the care they need.
  It's just as wrong for Congress to delay and deny these needed 
reforms, as it is for HMOs to delay and deny needed care.
  Congress can pass bipartisan legislation that provides meaningful 
protections for all patients and guarantees accountability when health 
plan abuse results in injury or death. The question is, will we?
  The American people are waiting for an answer.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for up to 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. Fitzgerald pertaining to the introduction of S. 
2790 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. FITZGERALD. I yield the floor.

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