[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14508]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                PASS MEANINGFUL PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (Mr. ROSS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Ganske-
Dingell-Norwood-Berry managed care reform legislation, H.R. 2563.
  I would like to take a moment to talk about one of my constituents in 
south Arkansas. Her name is Wendelyn Osborne, who provides a real life 
example of the need for a meaningful Patients' Bill of Rights.

                              {time}  1030

  Mrs. Osborne has a congenital and rare bone disease that involves 
continuous growth of her jawbone. She was not expected to live past the 
age of 14. She is now 35.
  Wendelyn's disease requires frequent trips to her specialist and 
surgeries. Unfortunately, each time she has to have an appointment, she 
must go through her primary care physician. Additionally, her surgeries 
to correct the continued growth of her jawbone, which are life-
threatening, are considered cosmetic, but they are not.
  The Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry bill will help Wendelyn in the 
following ways. It will remove the gatekeeper to her medical care and 
allow her care to be coordinated by her specialist, and it will give 
her a fair and timely external appeals process that will allow her to 
appeal her case to independent medical experts.
  Let us pass this bill. Let us pass it for Wendelyn Osborne.

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