I can't answer it yes or no. The answer is reckless, intentional, outrageous conduct.

I will first talk about what exactly the Senator from Pennsylvania is talking about when he talks about punitive damages. Punitive damages can only be awarded in a case where, in this context, an HMO or a health insurance company has…

Senator Coverdell offered legislation in 1997, as the Senator referred to, called the Volunteer Protection Act that does what this amendment is aimed at. It provides specific protection for people who provide volunteer services. Physicians…

I want to add a word for my colleague from Delaware. He and I have been working together on this legislation since it came to the floor and beforehand. He has a very well thought out position. Some of his positions I do not entirely share…

I continue to have a significant concern about raising an issue on the HMO reform bill that is not related to HMO reform. We have pretty consistently throughout this debate opposed and defeated amendments unrelated to the coverage of this…

I understand what my friend from Wyoming is trying to do. We appreciate his work on this issue. This is a subject matter that was covered previously by the Snowe-Nelson-DeWine-Lincoln amendment on which we reached consensus on the floor a…

I really think there is a fundamental question that the Senator and I may have some disagreement about, which is contract interpretations that involve medically reviewable facts under our legislation go to State court. I believe that all…

One, the entire Patients' Bill of Rights is about treating everybody the same. This, of course, carves out a special treatment for HMOs on the issue of accountability. Second, this amendment makes a special exception under RICO for HMOs…

I would answer the Senator's question by saying that under the examples given, if I understood them correctly, most of those examples would involve interpretation of contract language in the context of a medically reviewable fact. So I…

I would say, in answering my colleague's question, that in fact I am having difficulty imagining a case right now. The vast majority of cases similar to what we have just been discussing would fall within the category of a contract…

Because there are two separate categories, if I may answer the Senator's question. There are two potential causes of action. If it involves any issue relating to medical care, specific medical fact, those cases go to State court. We treat…

I say to my colleague that if there is already a law in place that covers this issue, it seems as a matter of procedure that the appropriate thing to do would be to amend the already existing law that covers the subject matter, as opposed…

I have concerns about the fundamental question that the principle of this legislation is that we treat HMOs, for accountability purposes, as everyone else. And the notion of doing something specifically to protect them from class actions…

First, I say to the Senator from Nevada that Senator Coverdell had a bill that he passed called the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. It specifically provides protection for volunteers, including physicians, who provide pro bono services…

let me respond briefly to a couple of the comments that were made about the Enzi amendment. First of all, no argument was made that I heard about the blue-slip problem, so I presume there is agreement that if this amendment is included, it…

this amendment is a wonderful example of what can be done when we work together to solve problems. The beneficiaries of the work that has been done by Senators Snowe, Nelson, DeWine, and Lincoln are not the Members of the Senate but the…

I am stunned that this came up on the floor today, quite frankly. But despite being stunned on both sides, let us sit down and talk this out as two Members of Congress from the State of Texas and see if we can proceed.

As somebody who has been involved with this issue for many years, I wonder if the Senator believes we can have a real patient protection act, real Patients' Bill of Rights, if, in fact, we exempt almost half of the employees in the country…

Let me just conclude from our side by saying a couple things about what the Senator from Colorado is trying to accomplish. We understand his concern about this issue. We do not believe this is the appropriate response or the appropriate…

Not only that, but I say to the Senator, having worked for and with small businesspeople for many years, I know they care about their employees. They care deeply about their employees, the vast majority of small businesses around this…

It would have been common courtesy to approach me personally and say, I am going to come to the floor today to talk to the chairman of the subcommittee about something that is not in my district that is within yours.

This bill still has a long way to go. I am more than willing to sit down with the chairman of the subcommittee, the ranking member, and the gentleman from Texas and see if we agree on this. But I would think before we shape the future of…

In answer to the Senator's question, not only under this amendment the employer couldn't be held accountable, in fact the HMO couldn't be held accountable because they would both be exempted from the legislation. So the family and the…

the debate on these two amendments is critical to the issue of whether all Americans--all families in this country--will have access to the protections provided for in this Bipartisan Patient Protection Act. That is the reason this vote…

Let me ask the Senator, as somebody who has been involved in this issue for so long, as the Senator knows, we have been working very closely with Senator Breaux on his amendment in an effort to make sure that all Americans are covered. One…