Joe Crowley: “Today, most American families receive their health coverage from managed care providers. In recent years, physician and…”

“Today, most American families receive their health coverage from managed care providers. In recent years, physician and patients have lost control over this market due to the rapid consolidation of managed care organizations. I am a proud co-sponsor of the Quality Health-Care Coalition Act, which would allow health care professionals to collectively bargain the terms of patient care with Health Care Organizations. Currently, physicians are forced to accept contracts, which often contain provisions that threaten the quality of patient care. In addition, many health plans impose gag rules on physicians that force them to accept arbitrary reimbursement rates with no thought to the quality of care being provided to the patient. These days, dominant health plans are not just managing costs, they are also determining the level, type, frequency and hoops patients must jump through in order to receive their health care. H.R. 1304 would help physicians and other health care professionals fight for better patient care by beginning to level the playing field between enormous, controlling managed care plans and individual physicians and other health care professionals.”