Chuck Grassley: “I oppose Senator Kennedy's amendment. Introducing this amendment at this time is a clear statement that Democratic…”

“I oppose Senator Kennedy's amendment. Introducing this amendment at this time is a clear statement that Democratic leaders want an election issue, not a Patients' Bill of Rights. It is a cynical ploy, made in bad faith, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. The Senate voted on this bill last year, after full debate, and rejected it in favor of a better product. Since that time, the conferees have been working on a compromise. In the past week, Republican negotiators made an offer with major new concessions. Was this greeted with a Democrat counteroffer that moved toward the middle? No, it's answered with this attempt to blow up those negotiations. If my colleagues don't want to legislate, if they just want to create election issues, they don't deserve to be here. Let me be specific. Republican negotiators have made an offer to their Democrat counterparts that would allow lawsuits to be brought if a health plan has rejected the decision of an independent reviewer and the enrollee has fully utilized the plan's appeal mechanism. Full economic damages could be sought, and punitive damages would be available, subject to limits. Employers, however, would be expressly protected from lawsuits, addressing a key concern of those who provide coverage to workers. These are major, major concessions. That's obvious.…”