Henry Waxman: “Today this House has a very basic decision to make: Are we going to pass effective and enforceable legislation to ensure…”

“Today this House has a very basic decision to make: Are we going to pass effective and enforceable legislation to ensure a patient bill of rights for people in this country? Are we going to agree to the Ganske-Dingell proposal which is going to give people the rights they need to deal with arbitrary and unfair treatment by big insurance companies and HMOs? Or are we going to rush through a Republican leadership bill that is designed to do just one thing, fool people into thinking that something is being done to help them just long enough to get through the next election? Because that is exactly the issue before us. Are we going to pass legislation that requires HMOs to have an adequate number and variety of health care providers so that people can get the services they need and are paying for? The Ganske-Dingell bill does that. The Republican leadership bill does not. Are we going to be sure that people can get to a specialist if they need one? Ganske-Dingell says yes. The Republican bill does not. Are we going to let insurance companies make the decisions about what medical patients need? Ganske-Dingell says decisions belong to the patients and their doctors. The Republican bill does not.”