I want to speak to some of the concerns and comments that have been made by my friend and colleague from Tennessee with whom I have been working over the course of the last few days on this issue. There are a couple of issues he raised…

I agree with the Senator. As the Senator knows, the legislation offered by the Senator, myself, and Senator McCain, this specific language is supported by the medical groups from around the country involved with this issue on a daily basis…

I specifically thank him for his work on this issue on behalf of the people of Nebraska whom he represents. He has been extraordinarily diligent and involved in this very important issue of the Patients' Bill of Rights and patient…

this is an issue on which we have consensus. The President of the United States said, ``Only employers who retain responsibility for and make vital medical decisions should be subject to suit.'' Our bill provides exactly as the President…

It is impossible during that period of time to get injunctive relief against an HMO, and I might add, the last thing in the world a family is thinking about when they have a member of their family who is in trouble and needs health care is…

in summary, let me speak to the two amendments we will next be addressing. First, the Gramm amendment is outside the mainstream, outside what the President of the United States has suggested, outside of what we have in our legislation, and…

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…

Fundamentally, the reason we need this bill is that the law needs to be taken from being on the side of the HMOs and put on the side of patients and doctors so health care decisions in this country are, in fact, being made by people who…

That is absolutely a fair statement. When I have town hall meetings in North Carolina, we often have physicians show up and share horror stories, including ordering care for a patient, with some clerk sitting behind a desk 300 miles away…

We are continuing to work on it as we speak. If we can find a way to maximize protection for employers with appropriate language and, at the same time, not ignore the interests of the patients, we will do that. I believe that can be done.

First of all, the arguments being used serially, one after another, are all arguments that have been trotted out by the HMOs for years now. They are the arguments they make to avoid any kind of reform. They like it just the way it is now…

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…

That kind of unintended consequence is exactly what we want to avoid. The issues the Senator from Virginia is discussing in this colloquy are the same kinds of issues that have been addressed by employers to us and my colleagues who are…

Let me respond briefly to some of the comments made by my colleague from New Hampshire. This is the same tired old rhetoric the HMOs have been trotting out for years now to keep any kind of reform from occurring. They are now, by the way…

Yes. Mr. McCAIN. Is it true that we have significant protections for employers with regard to liability, including the self-insured? But isn't it also true--because allegations will be made to the contrary-- that we are interested in…

on the first day of debate on the floor of the Senate on the Bipartisan Patient Protection Act, supported by a majority of the Senate, a majority of the House of Representatives, and virtually every health care group in America, what was…

I thank my colleagues. Madam President, when Michael Gray Whitt was born, he suffered from a blood disorder known as RH isoimmunization, which occurs when the mother has one blood type and the baby has another. The mother's body reacts by…

The bottom line is there is a handful of groups that support both bills. Then there are over 600 consumer groups and medical groups, including the American Medical Association, that support our bill. There is a reason for that, which I…

My concern is that we specifically say and designate that the Secretary of Labor shall set up a process by which these people are identified. That process is required by law to not allow any of the people involved in the process, which is…

The Secretary sets up a process by which the selection of the independent review panel is done and by which the selection of those people who are eligible for the independent review panel is done. The Secretary is responsible for doing…

In the two places where that system has been used before, which is in California and Texas, very few lawsuits have been filed. They are two of the biggest States in the country, some would argue two of the most litigious States in the…

What our intention is in our bill is to provide an objective third party who chooses who the group is, who contracts and actually selects the review panel, and then chooses the review panel. The Senator will recall, in previous bills that…

Reclaiming my time, the difference is, we have specific language in our bill that says neither the HMO nor the patient can have any relationship or any control over who is the group who picks the reviewing panel, No. 1, or the reviewing…

Would the Senator talk briefly about the number of Americans who are being affected by us not having already passed this legislation, and whatever delay may occur in the debate of this bill? I know the Senator has been involved in this…

I thank the Senator his questions and comments. He is exactly right. There is a difference on the issue of clinical trials in the two bills. I think the Senator from Tennessee suggested the same in his remarks. But there are differences…