Political Quotes

“I rise today to continue what is a series of speeches or Special Orders on the need to reform our Nation's managed care industry. In the past I have discussed external and internal appeals processes, medical necessity, and the need for accountability. Today I would like to discuss patient access to specialty care. Specialists fill an invaluable role in our Nation's health care system. And many of us have sought the services of a specialist because of high blood pressure, a broken arm, or migraine headaches. But oftentimes, HMOs refuse patients access to specialists because they do not have such specialists in their network or they are across town or literally unavailable. Such is the case of Sarah Peterson from San Mateo, California. She was born with a brain tumor that required her to see a physician who specialized in brain tumors. But her HMO, which was obtained through her father's employer, told her mother that she would not be able to see a pediatric specialist. She was told, what difference does it make, cancer is cancer. Well, it does make a difference if you are the parent of a child with a potentially deadly tumor. While Sarah was fighting for her life, her parents were fighting an HMO to get her the quality health care they were paying for. This situation could have had dire consequences; but fortunately for Sarah, her parents changed plans during the middle of this medical crisis. Sarah is now 8 years old and is doing well.”