Tom Udall: “I have a district in New Mexico that is 38 percent Hispanic, close to 20 percent Native American, and the leadership…”

“I have a district in New Mexico that is 38 percent Hispanic, close to 20 percent Native American, and the leadership that the Hispanic Caucus has shown in terms of educating us on these issues has been very, very helpful to me. The gentleman mentioned an issue that I wanted to say something about, until I go on to continue with the Patient Bill of Rights, and that issue is this issue of why we are giving patients the right to sue an HMO. Mr. Speaker, we have two States which have passed laws very similar to the bills we are considering now. California and Texas have passed Patient Bill of Rights laws. To listen to the other side argue and to listen to the HMO community, the managed care community argue, one would think that we were going to have runaway lawsuits. You would think that juries are going to go crazy and award massive awards. In fact, those two laws which have been in place now a number of months, one of them in Texas, went through and was put in. President Bush did not sign it, but he could have prevented it and he allowed it to become law. I believe only a half dozen people have even filed a claim under that law.”