Elijah Lewis: “we need a real Patients' Bill of Rights. I know because I have heard from the people in my district. A mother told me…”

“we need a real Patients' Bill of Rights. I know because I have heard from the people in my district. A mother told me her daughter had a mastectomy. The mother begged, pleaded to keep her daughter in the hospital for just one night. She needed to be there, but the insurance company sent her home. I have heard from a doctor, a doctor who had to fight the insurance company to get coverage to treat his cancer. Mr. Speaker, too many patients are paying more and are getting less. Under the present system, too many patients are getting a raw deal. They need a fair deal. They need a good deal. They need a better deal. The differences are clear. Democrats are concerned about protecting patients. Republicans are concerned with protecting big business and insurance companies. The system is broken. It needs help. It needs a doctor. The Republicans are only offering a Band-Aid. We need a bill to let doctors make medical decisions. The Democratic bill makes sense. If we can choose who fixes our car when it is broken, then we should be able to choose who would care for us when we are sick. If insurance companies want to tell us that we cannot see a doctor, that we cannot get treatment, then they must be held accountable. The doctors and nurses on Main Street should make the decisions about our health care, not the insurance company and wheelers and dealers on Wall Street. The Democratic bill protects patients. The Republican bill does not.”