Hilda L. Solis: “my constituents want a strong and enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. They are tired of HMOs who deny them the health…”

“my constituents want a strong and enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. They are tired of HMOs who deny them the health care that they need. They are tired of insurance company bureaucrats who overrule doctors' decisions. They want a bill like Ganske-Dingell-Norwood and others to protect the patients that they are supposedly required to protect because only this bill gives every American the right to choose their own doctor, the right to see health care specialists, the right to have direct access to an OB-GYN or a pediatrician, and the right to get prescription drugs that their physicians prescribe. Only this bill holds health care plans accountable when they make a decision that harms or kills someone. Only this bill ensures that external reviews of medical decisions are conducted by independent and qualified experts. We should take a chapter out of what happened in California. Our Governor there passed major reforms in HMOs, and I think that this House should take a look at what has happened there. They have done a fantastic job in actually being able to negotiate before they actually have to go to the court house. Mr. Speaker, I ask for the support of my colleagues on this legislation.”