[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HELP EFFICIENT, ACCESSIBLE, LOW-COST, TIMELY HEALTH CARE (HEALTH) ACT 
                                OF 2004

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                               speech of

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 12, 2004

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4280. This bill 
gives us the wrong solution to a complex problem.
  The bill will limit the rights of patients, it will harm low-income 
Americans and it will do nothing to lower the cost of health insurance.
  This bill proposes to cap non-economic damages at $250,000. That is 
fine if a victim of poor medical care is a business executive, because 
they will receive economic damages as compensation. But what happens to 
the minimum wage worker or the stay-at-home mom? They rely on non-
economic damages to receive adequate compensation.
  This bill shows that the life of a wealthy American is worth more 
than that of a new immigrant working in a restaurant or a stay-at-home 
mother who raises her children.
  We're all searching for a way to lower the cost of health insurance 
for all Americans. But this bill won't help. The Congressional Budget 
Office found that this bill won't do anything to help bring down the 
costs of health insurance.
  Even if the cost of malpractice insurance goes down, those savings 
will not be passed along to Americans who try to purchase health 
insurance. They will still face the high cost of health insurance 
without any help.
  This bill does not help patients and it does not help Americans. The 
Republicans have given us a bill that does nothing to solve the real 
problems with our healthcare system.
  I oppose this bill because it does nothing to lower healthcare costs. 
And it does nothing to protect patients' rights.

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