Byron Dorgan: “this amendment is one more in a series of amendments designed to try to derail the Patients' Bill of Rights, or the…”

“this amendment is one more in a series of amendments designed to try to derail the Patients' Bill of Rights, or the Patient Protection Act. There is no evidence of unfairness in the attorney fee portion of the bill that we brought to the floor of the Senate. No one has alleged that; no one has discussed that with us. This is the first moment in which there is an amendment offered and we have been working on this legislation for five years. It is interesting that the amendments are always designed to try to take the ground out from under patients, to diminish the opportunity for the patients to address the enormous problems they face in confronting a managed care organization that does not want to give the care promised the patients. This amendment ultimately prevents injured patients from finding the adequate legal protection they need in order to confront a managed care organization. Congress has passed over 300 laws allowing attorney fees, and the laws are described for every Senator to see in a Congressional Research Service report No. 94-870-8. I commend anyone to that CRS report which describes these laws. I have not found any Federal law on attorney's fees that is as restrictive as is proposed in this amendment. I repeat, there isn't any Federal law on attorney's fees that is as restrictive as that proposed this morning on the Patient Protection Act.”