Political Quotes

“Reclaiming my time, my response to the Senator's question is simple and common sense. For a family in a bad situation needing medical care immediately, the last thing in the world they are thinking of is hiring a lawyer, going to court and trying to get an injunction. The Senator well knows that process by itself can take enough time for something serious to happen in the interim. As to the second issue the Senator raises, all we are saying in our legislation, in the structure of our system--internal appeal/external appeal--if that is unsuccessful and there has been a serious injury, they can be treated and taken to court the same as everyone else. We expect the HMO, which, by the way, is in the business of making these health care decisions, although of course not to cover absolutely everything, to make reasonable, thoughtful judgments about what is covered and what should not be covered. Now back to the issue of employer liability. First of all, the answer to the Gramm amendment is that it is inconsistent with what the Republican President of the United States has said regarding our bill and the President's principle: "Only employers who retain responsibility for and make final medical decisions should be subject to suit." This is the President's written principle. That is the way our bill is designed, that only employers engaged in the business of making individual medical decisions can have any liability or any responsibility.”