Political Quotes

“what we have done in the McCain-Edwards- Kennedy bill is structured a system that, unlike my colleague describes, is actually intended to avoid cases going to court. If we didn't want to avoid cases going to court, we would not first have an internal appeal and then have an independent external appeal. What we have learned from experience is the majority of cases get resolved. In Texas, California, and in Georgia, for the three examples, when that system is in place, most cases get decided by that system. I think in Georgia and California there actually hasn't been a single lawsuit filed. That is good because the purpose is to get treatment to patients. But there will be rare cases where the HMO does something inappropriate, wrongful, and, as a result, somebody gets hurt. It is not right, under our system of justice, for a family to be responsible for the rest of their lives to pay for that. If the HMO is responsible, they should be held accountable, just as all the rest of us. That is the reason we have set up this system the way it is. What we have ultimately is real rights that are enforceable through an internal review, then an external review, and then, if necessary, if someone gets hurt, the case can go to court.”