Gus Bilirakis: “I rise in favor of H.R. 4250. I am proud of this bill. Whereas the Democratic bill focuses on patient protections, our…”

“I rise in favor of H.R. 4250. I am proud of this bill. Whereas the Democratic bill focuses on patient protections, our bill focuses on basically the same patient protections and additionally places great emphasis on expanding health coverage and access for the insured and the uninsured, but both are accomplished without imposing burdensome government mandates. Guaranteeing access to quality health care must always be a top priority. What good, in fact, are patient protections if access is not there? We do this through the creation of Health Marts and by broadening the role of the community health centers, so that for those who live in medically underserved areas it will be simpler to receive critical services. The proposal creates community health organizations, which are basically managed care plans controlled by community health centers. It encourages more competition to lower prices for health consumers. Community health centers will have more money because they will have more private-paying patients using their facilities. As a result, these health centers will be able to provide care to even more uninsured people. Of course, the bill before us includes important new patient protections. For months, people across the country have told Congress that they want to choose their own doctors.…”