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



                        PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, now is the time for a real Patients' 
Bill of Rights; and today is the day that we should instruct the 
conferees to move quickly to pass a strong bill.
  I have a letter from constituents.

       Dear Representative Schakowsky: We beg you to please do 
     everything you possibly can to support a Patients' Bill of 
     Rights for those of us who find ourselves in the merry-go-
     round of dealing with HMOs and reluctant insurance company 
     benefit providers. It has gotten to the point of being 
     ridiculous when patients are subjected to mental torture by 
     these big companies.
       This certainly cannot be what our Founding Fathers had in 
     mind. Ultimately, we have only one means of relief, the 
     United States Congress. I understand the big providers have 
     lobbyists, with deep pockets, fighting any legislation that 
     would force them to be more fair and of understanding their 
     responsibilities to their customers, but this cannot be 
     allowed to interfere with what we all know to be basically 
     right and wrong. This is what the average American cannot 
     understand. Why cannot Congress just do what is right for the 
     people whose well-being has been entrusted to them?

  It has been entrusted to us. This is the day that we can act to say 
move quickly, move now.

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