[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1222-E1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE MEDICAL RIGHTS ACT OF 2009, H.R. 2516

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                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 2009

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand here today to 
introduce the Medical Rights Act of 2009 that will protect the doctor-
patient relationship, the integrity of the medical profession and the 
right of Americans to choose the care they deem appropriate without 
federal delay or restriction.
  The President outlined three principles for health care reform--lower 
costs, choice and access. I support these goals. To back them,

[[Page E1223]]

the President should endorse the Medical Rights Act. Our legislation is 
founded on this: Congress should make no law to block the decisions 
that American patients make with their doctor. If patients are our 
prime focus, their rights should be protected in law.
  We can look to Great Britain and Canada to show us how government 
takeover of health care puts Congress, then the government in charge of 
your health care decisions, allowing them to decide what treatments you 
should or should not have. While over 60 percent of Americans are 
actually satisfied with their health care plan, only 55 percent of 
Canadian seniors are satisfied. The starkest difference in care appears 
when you are sickest. In Britain, government hospitals maintain nine 
intensive care unit beds per 100,000 people. In America, we have three 
times that number at 31 per 100,000. In sum, Britain has less than two 
doctors per 1,000 people, ranking it next to Mexico and Turkey.
  If we do not enact the Medical Rights Act, patients will be at risk 
when government denies care, as they routinely do in Canada and Great 
Britain. Once denied government care, many Canadians find doctors in 
the U.S. If Congress orders the government to take over America's 
health care, where can we drive once care is denied by a new government 
health care system? To prevent this nightmare, Congress should pass the 
Medical Rights Act.
  We need to promote patient-centered health care reform, where every 
American has access to the care they need, when they need it. It is not 
the role of the federal government to decide the type of care a patient 
should have but the role of doctors and medical professionals. I urge 
my colleagues to support the Medical Rights Act to stop the federal 
government from taking control over decisions made by you and your 
doctor.

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