Steve Rothman: “I am pleased to rise as a cosponsor and in support of H.R. 1304, the Quality Health Care Coalition Act. We are here…”

“I am pleased to rise as a cosponsor and in support of H.R. 1304, the Quality Health Care Coalition Act. We are here today to restore a sense of balance to a health care system that is now dominated by the health care insurance companies. H.R. 1304 will put doctors on a level playing field with the giant health care companies. Specifically, it will allow doctors to join together and negotiate the terms and conditions of their HMO contracts without violating the antitrust laws. With the power to bargain collectively, doctors will then have the clout to negotiate for fair terms for their services and for their patients rights. When large HMOs dictate all the terms to individual doctors, patients suffer. To make up for low HMO payments, doctors are forced to see more patients each day. When doctors see more patients daily, they are not able to spend the kind of time they want to and need to spend with each patient. Their offices often look like assembly lines because the HMOs and the health insurance companies dictate to the doctors how quickly they must move those patients in and out. Doctors and other health care professionals need to be able to negotiate health care service contracts with HMOs and health insurance companies on a level playing field so that their patients can receive the quality health care treatment they deserve.”