Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I know about the success it has had since it was enacted in Texas. I have heard many people around the country talking…”

“I know about the success it has had since it was enacted in Texas. I have heard many people around the country talking about the Texas law, and that it would be a model for what we would want to do for every State in America that doesn't already have laws. I think it is an important point that we are not trying to preempt State laws in the Frist-Breaux-Jeffords plan. I support that. I think it is a very important point. The Kennedy-McCain-Edwards bill preempts the States that have already acted. I don't think we need to do that. The Texas law is serving very well in Texas. Yes. We can cover the plans that are not covered by State law in the Federal plan. But there is no reason to preempt a State law that is already working in a particular State. We all know that every State has different needs. People have different ways to look at things. Oregon has been a leader in many health care issues which might not work in Texas. That goes across all the State lines. The No. 1 thing that we want to do in this country is encourage more people to have health care coverage. We want them to have good quality health care coverage, which is why we are passing a Patients' Bill of Rights.”