Political Quotes

“as a physician, we all recognize the importance of high quality health care for all children in this country. In addition to the declining source of revenue as a means to pay for this, which I believe is an irresponsible way to legislate on health care, there's a serious other problem that needs to be discussed and that is, does this bill provide real access to quality health care? Too often children on Medicaid and SCHIP receive fewer visits from primary care providers than those with private coverage. That's clear. And they are much more likely to seek care in the emergency room when it's late. They don't get the necessary screenings and vaccinations. GAO criticized government-run programs like SCHIP for disregarding patients' access problems. It's disappointing to me, as a physician, that the majority rushed this flawed bill to the floor without permitting any opportunity for improvements. I offered an amendment that went to Rules which was not allowed, which would have encouraged States to measure and report provider access problems for SCHIP programs. It would also require States to report their plans to limit 'crowd out' of private coverage.”