Political Quotes

“I am convinced action is needed to stabilize the delivery of health care, particularly for small communities and for medical specialties plagued by extraordinarily high premium rates. It is unacceptable to have prices spiraling so out of control that care is prohibitive for many doctors and patients. I am open to a range of alternatives to provide a long-term solution. This bill focuses only on capping damages to lower premiums, siting California's MICRA legislation as its model. Unfortunately, it ignores the other methods used in California, which may have had more impact over the long-term. The cap is eroding patients' rights by failing to provide for inflation and H.R. 5 suffers the same flaw. The Republican alternative is simply an attempt to provide a partisan political response, rather than a serious effort at bipartisan legislative action. This bill is being rushed through the legislative process without an opportunity for amendment and with little relationship to the proposal that is likely to emerge from the Senate. Last fall, I voted against the same bill when it came to the floor. Unfortunately, the Republican proposal is still just a bargaining position, not a legislative solution. It's very unlikely that this bill will be enacted into law, and if it was, it would be highly unfair to the people that I represent.”