[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4967-H4968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SUPPORT OF BIPARTISAN PATIENT PROTECTION ACT, H.R. 2563

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to voice my strong support 
of the Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry patients' bill of rights. I am a 
proud cosponsor of this bill which our wise counterparts in the Senate 
passed more than 1 month ago.
  Over 800 organizations endorse the Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry 
patient bill of rights, and numerous surveys show overwhelming support 
for the

[[Page H4968]]

kind of bipartisan commonsense protections this bill provides. We must 
pass this bill and not delay or deny the American public what so many 
of us have promised them time and time again since 1998.
  More than 160 million Americans receive health services through 
managed care. Sixty-three percent of the insured population in this 
country have employment-based insurance. This patients' bill of rights 
would not only ensure a basic minimal level of health care for these 
Americans but also ensure that doctors, and not bureaucrats, are making 
decisions when it comes to patient care.
  We must pass the newly revised Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry patients' 
bill of rights, H.R. 2563. This bill gives HMO patients the right to 
choose their own doctor, covers all Americans with employer-based 
insurance, ensures that external reviews are conducted by independent 
and qualified physicians, and holds a plan accountable when it makes a 
decision that harms or kills someone. It also provides access to 
emergency room care, OB-GYNs, pediatricians, specialty care providers, 
and clinical trials and prescription drugs.
  And while it does allow patients to sue in Federal and State courts, 
the newly revised bill makes it clear that employers will not be sued 
for wrongs committed by health plans. It limits employer liability by 
providing an exemption for self-employed plans and permitting employers 
to appoint a decisionmaker to immunize them from lawsuits.
  Mr. Speaker, furthermore, this legislation narrows the scope of 
defined violations to provide meaningful protections for employers 
trying to provide the best care they can for employers and employees.
  Mr. Speaker, an understandable and equally important concern for many 
of America's hardworking employers is the increased cost of providing 
health care for their employees. H.R. 2563 has been crafted to minimize 
this risk as well. The Congressional Budget Office issued a cost 
analysis of the McCain-Edwards-Kennedy bill, which is virtually 
identical to H.R. 2563, and concluded it would increase health 
insurance premiums by only a de minimis amount.
  Moreover, a cost increase may never occur, since many HMOs have 
changed their policies over the past 3 years to ensure that patients 
can obtain medically necessary care. I applaud these HMOs and hope that 
others will follow, especially since some Members of the House seem 
determined to never let H.R. 2563 be considered on the House floor. I 
think that would be a travesty, Mr. Speaker. This patients' bill of 
rights represents a critical step toward improving our health care 
system by placing control of patient care firmly in the hands of 
patients and their doctors.
  I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to think of their 
constituents and the promises that we have made to improve health care 
in America. We must pass meaningful health care reform. We must pass 
this patients' bill of rights, and we must do it now.

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