Political Quotes

“I am deeply disappointed in how the Republicans have stripped and completely weakened H.R. 2563, the Bipartisan Ganske-Dingell Patient Protection Act of 2001. This Patient Bill of Rights originally included strong patient protections that would have ensured timely access to high quality health care for the millions of Americans with private health insurance. This bill was a bipartisan effort to protect our patients but some Republicans decided to add some terrible provisions that protected HMOs over individuals. The original Patients Bill of Rights, the one I supported, would have given individuals more access to emergency medical services, access to specialty care, access to essential medication, access to clinical trials, and direct access to pediatricians as well as Ob-Gyn care. This bill would have also protected the doctor-patient relationships by ensuring health professionals are free to provide information about a patient's medical treatment options. H.R. 2563 did address the importance of allowing patients to appeal their health plans' decision as well as holding HMOs accountable for their actions. This bill would have established an independent, speedy external review process for patients dissatisfied with the results of the internal review. H.R. 2563 would have allowed individuals the right to sue when a medical judgment resulted in injury or death.”