Janice Schakowsky: “I rise today to support H.R. 2563, the Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry Patients' Bill of Rights, and to urge its passage.…”

“I rise today to support H.R. 2563, the Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry Patients' Bill of Rights, and to urge its passage. Patients in my district and throughout the country have been waiting far too long for protection against HMO abuses; but they want real reform, not a sugar pill that may go down well with the managed care industry but provides no relief for patients. H.R. 2563 is the only bill that would provide real relief, and the Republican leadership ought to schedule it for a vote. Just look at who supports it and who rejects the Fletcher placebo. The International Association of Firefighters supports it, because it provides real protection to local firefighters, unlike the Fletcher bill. The Paralyzed Veterans of America believes H.R. 2563 has the strongest provisions in numerous areas critical to high-quality health care for people with disabilities. The League of Women Voters supports the Ganske-Dingell bill because it provides strong and needed protections, while the Fletcher bill 'establishes an appeals process that will put the rights of health plans ahead of patients'; also, the American Nurses Association, the American College of Obstetricians. We should listen to those groups. We should listen to the patients. We should pass an effective and affordable Patients' Bill of Rights, H.R. 2563, now.”