Haley Stevens: “I regret deeply I will not be able to vote for this bill. My State does not have a problem with the HMOs that other…”

“I regret deeply I will not be able to vote for this bill. My State does not have a problem with the HMOs that other people have expressed. Our State would be mandated by this bill to change its laws. The sensible amendment offered by Senator Collins was defeated. The Allard amendments that dealt with small business were defeated. The mandates in this bill will hamper our development of a sound health care delivery system for Alaska. It is a vast area with a few people. We do not need the interference of the Federal Government. We need help. I think this bill will interfere with what we are doing. I hope by the time it comes out of conference I will be able to support it. I commend everyone who has tried, but this, the underlying bill, will not help our people; it will hurt them; and I cannot support it.”