[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 369]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     ENSURING STRONGEST POSSIBLE PATIENT PROTECTIONS IN HMO REFORM

  (Mr. WYNN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, this year Congress can begin to address one of 
America's most pressing problems, reforming managed care. But HMO 
reform will be meaningless if we do not have a real Patients' Bill of 
Rights with teeth.
  Last year we got the process started. We passed the bipartisan 
Dingell-Norwood bill, which has real teeth in it. What do we need to do 
now? First, we need to get started. There has been too much delay. Let 
us convene the conference committee. Second, we need to insist on the 
part of the House that we include the tough standards that give 
patients the right to sue, that require utilization review, that 
require independent appeals processes and that enable constituents to 
have an explanation in writing of why they were denied care.
  When people are denied care by HMOs, they are harmed. When HMOs harm 
citizens, they have to be held accountable. The way to hold them 
accountable is to insist that our legislation includes the tough 
standards that the House passed last year. We can do it together. I 
certainly believe this ought to be one of our first orders of business 
as we begin the new year. I think if we do that we can make real 
progress for the American people.

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