Frank Pallone: “Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to talk about the Republicans and their successful effort to block managed care reform in…”

“Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to talk about the Republicans and their successful effort to block managed care reform in this Congress. And I stress block managed care reform. Congress is now just a few days away from adjourning for the year, and managed care reform, or HMO reform, is essentially dead. And the reason is because the Senate, at this point, has simply refused to take up any HMO or managed care reform bill. To date, the House Republicans have dutifully carried the water, in my opinion, for the insurance industry. They did pass in the House of Representatives a bill which they labeled managed care reform, but it is a counterfeit bill, a reform bill that is worse than the current law. Of course, not to be out done, the Senate Republicans have rewarded the industry's loyalty to the Republican Party by doing nothing at all. Absolutely nothing. They simply refuse to take up the issue of managed care reform, and they are hopeful that the issue will simply die and everyone will forget about it. Well, I do not think people are going to forget about it. The Republicans are, in effect, touting their indifference to HMO reform in the public's face.”