Charles Norwood: “I certainly support the conference committee taking action on managed care reform as soon as possible, as Members on…”

“I certainly support the conference committee taking action on managed care reform as soon as possible, as Members on both sides of the aisle would agree to. But we do have to ask ourselves why are we bringing this motion before the House again today? We have finally received a commitment from House and Senate leaders to produce a final bill by early April, which will include the ability to sue ERISA-governed HMOs that cause injury and death. This is a massive concession by many who have been opposed to restoring the rights to sue. They should be welcomed with open arms. Instead, I fear we may be poisoning the negotiations by rewarding them with a political slap in the face. I do not know of any nonpolitical reason why we have the motion today. However, because I fully support patient protections, I will not vote against this motion. This is only our second day back to voting. People who have been our hard-core opponents are now offering an olive branch. We need to take it and make the best of it that we possibly can make. For that reason, I will not vote for this new motion. For now I will simply vote 'present.' We need to encourage negotiation.”