Rick Allen: “Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis of confidence in American health care today. A majority of consumers believe that…”

“Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis of confidence in American health care today. A majority of consumers believe that insurance plans often compromise the quality of care to save money. Managed care must be more than managed cost. I am concerned that we are going to see a fig tree growing in the House of Representatives, proposals from the other side, from the Republican leadership, that are no more than fig leaves. We have seen it with campaign finance reform. We can see it coming with tobacco. It may come with HMOs as well. The solution to our problem is the Democrat-sponsored Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 1998. It provides access to necessary care. It ensures access to specialists. It provides direct access to a specialist for patients with serious ongoing conditions. It would allow women to see their obstetrician or gynecologist without prior authorization, and it requires access to and payment for emergency room service. It also provides a fair and timely appeals process when health care plans deny care, and it provides protections for the patient-provider relationship. It does that by banning gag clauses. It protects providers who advocate on behalf of their patients, and prevents drive-through mastectomies.”