[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12089]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 12089]]

           IT IS TIME TO PASS A REAL PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

  (Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, emergency room nurses are in 
town, and I commend and congratulate them for the outstanding work they 
do. This is also a great time to pass a real Patients' Bill of Rights, 
one like the Ganske-Dingell bill that ensures that medical decisions 
come before business decisions, one that ensures that doctors and 
patients and nurses have the opportunity to decide what kind of 
treatment there ought to be. It ensures that external review of 
individuals who do not have a self-interest are the ones making the 
decisions and recommendations.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not like the bill that was introduced yesterday, 
that allows HMOs to do their own reviewing, to have their own internal 
reviews to determine whether or not what they are doing is good and 
right. That is like having the fox guard the chicken house.
  Mr. Speaker, if we want to be real, we will pass the Ganske-Dingell 
bill for real patients' rights.

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