Greg Ganske: “This weekend in Parade Magazine, February 6, 2000, on page 15, there is a cartoon. I do not have it blown up like I have…”

“This weekend in Parade Magazine, February 6, 2000, on page 15, there is a cartoon. I do not have it blown up like I have made charts of many cartoons in the past as I have spoken here on patient protection legislation, so let me describe what this cartoon shows. It shows a doctor sitting at his desk holding a sheet of paper. There is a patient, a man, sitting in the chair in front of the desk. The doctor is saying, ``Your HMO won't cover any illness contracted in the 20th century.'' Well, Mr. Speaker, it is a truism that in order for something to be funny, in order for there to be a joke to be effective or a cartoon to be effective, the public has to understand what the punch line is and what the issue is. And the issue, of course, is that HMOs have not treated many people around this country fairly. They have come up with rules and regulations in byzantine and bizarre ways to deny necessary, medically necessary care for their patients.”