Rob Andrews: “Mr. Chairman, it is very important for the Members to understand that the Norwood amendment, which will be presented as…”

“Mr. Chairman, it is very important for the Members to understand that the Norwood amendment, which will be presented as a patients' bill of rights, is most certainly not a patients' bill of rights. It is a mirage. It appears to be a refuge from mistreatment by managed care companies, but it most certainly is not. In order to get to court to get the law enforced if an HMO does something wrong, you first have to go through an external review process, and, if you lose the external review process, the Norwood amendment vests that process with unprecedented powers in American law. It says if you lose, there is something called a rebuttable presumption against you. That means instead of having to move the ball to the 50-yard line on the field, you have to move it to your opponent's 10- or 20-yard line. He who has the burden of proof loses, and you would lose in most cases if you had to bring the suit this way.”