Frank Pallone: “many of us know now that the Republican leadership postponed any debate or vote on the patients' bill of rights, the HMO…”

“many of us know now that the Republican leadership postponed any debate or vote on the patients' bill of rights, the HMO reform even though it was scheduled for last week. Now, of course, we are hearing that it may come up this week perhaps as early as Thursday, later on this week. Mr. Speaker, I mention it because myself and many other Democrats have come to the floor frequently over the last year, and perhaps over the last 2 or 3 years, demanding that we have an opportunity for a clean vote on a real patients' bill of rights because we know of the problems that Americans and our constituents face with abuses when they are in the managed care system, where they have an HMO as their insurer. What I fear though, Mr. Speaker, from the pronouncements that we are hearing from the Republican leadership is that there will not be an opportunity for a vote on HMO reform unless they have the votes for a weaker version of HMO reform or they call it the patients' bill of rights than what the majority of the Members of this House have been seeking.”