Rob Andrews: “I do not know if it is a miracle or a coincidence, but for over 100 days after the House passed the bill there was no…”

“I do not know if it is a miracle or a coincidence, but for over 100 days after the House passed the bill there was no meeting scheduled of the conferees. Then last night we filed this motion calling for a meeting of the conferees, and we hear there is a meeting going to be scheduled. It sounds to me like a trip to Lourdes took place and a miracle occurred, and we accept the miracle very happily. I have no doubt that there are people in good faith on both sides that want to pass a real accountability bill for managed care. But I worry that we might be like the fans of the Tennessee Titans, like my friend the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ford), who believes that if they had time for just one more play the other night, they would have tied the game and gone on to win the Super Bowl. I do not want to be standing here in September or October and saying, if we just had one more week, just a little more time, we could have done what the huge majority of Americans want us to do. Let us get to work right now. Let us have the conference meet, and let us pass a real Patients' Bill of Rights.”