David Thomas: “I tell my friend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) this amendment is not very clever at all. It is very…”

“I tell my friend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) this amendment is not very clever at all. It is very straightforward. The gentleman from New York was very concerned about the precise language used over here, and maybe he did not hear himself talk, because he used the term ``collective bargaining.'' He said doctors need collective bargaining. Now, if this was about moving doctors under the National Labor Relations Act, where they would get collective bargaining, where there are rights associated with responsibilities, we would not have this problem. That is not the case. What we have got are giving people the rights without the responsibilities. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky has said, ``In every case we have brought, it is really related to doctors' income and not to patients' welfare.'' I think my colleagues can call this amendment ``trust but verify.'' If, in fact, the doctors are really needing this suspension of antitrust to help patients, then this amendment is exactly what it will do. Trust but verify. One: Do not negotiate regarding fees. Do not tell us that is about patients and care. It is about money. Two: Do not cost shift. Do not cut a deal in which the patient has to bear the extra cost in balanced billing. Three: Hey, we got a 100,000 deaths every year. How about getting some medical error structure in place before they turn them loose in terms of the ``collective bargaining.'' Let us have some truth in packaging.”