Frank Pallone: “I just wanted to mention, the Republicans keep talking about the number of uninsured in this country. I would point out…”

“I just wanted to mention, the Republicans keep talking about the number of uninsured in this country. I would point out that 4 years ago, when President Clinton tried to put forward a health care plan that would insure all Americans, they fought it vigorously. The fact that we have more Americans now without health insurance is their fault, because they would not allow the Clinton plan to come forward. So now the numbers of uninsured continue to grow. Mr. Speaker, I just want to explain why the Democrats' bill is a vastly superior bill in terms of ensuring and expanding patients' access to physicians. For example, the Patients' Bill of Rights ensures access to specialists. The Republican bill does not. Under the Democratic bill, if a patient has cancer, they could go directly to an oncologist. If their child has a specific problem, they could bring their child to whatever type of specialist their child might need. But under the Republican plan that child would still have to go to their primary physician for a referral, and there is no guarantee that they would get to see a specialist if they need one. The differences between the two bills are more pronounced when it comes to seeing specialists outside of one's HMO. The Patients' Bill of Rights ensures that patients will be able to go outside their network, at no cost to them, if they need to see a specialist that their HMO does not have. Under the Republican bill, they are out of luck.”