Robert Berry: “Mr. Speaker, once again we are here asking the Republican leadership to bring patients rights legislation to the floor…”

“Mr. Speaker, once again we are here asking the Republican leadership to bring patients rights legislation to the floor for a vote, once again. We need this reform so we can make managed care work. We need managed care. We are only asking the leadership to do the job the American people want them to do, to bring up a bill to guarantee all Americans with private health insurance, and particularly those in HMOs or other managed care plans, certain fundamental rights regarding their healthcare coverage. Today approximately 161 million Americans receive medical coverage through some type of managed care organization. Unfortunately, many in managed care plans experience increasing restrictions on their choice of doctors, growing limitations on their access to necessary treatment, difficulty in obtaining the drugs they need and should have and must have to stay alive, and an overriding emphasis on cost cutting at the expense of quality. Patients rights legislation would guarantee basic patient protections to all consumers of private insurance. It would ensure that patients receive the treatment they have been promised and paid for. It would prevent HMOs and other health plans from arbitrarily interfering with doctors' decisions regarding the treatment of their patients and the necessary healthcare that they require.”