Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill and yield myself such time as I might consume. The NOTICE Act, as the name suggests, is about giving notice. In this case, it gives notice to patients when they are about to be billed personally, perhaps for many thousands of dollars, because they were characterized as under observation rather than regular inpatient status without them even knowing. I am pleased to have worked on this legislation since last summer with Mr. Young when we originally filed the bill, and I am appreciative of Chairman Ryan's prompt consideration of it in our committee. This is a consumer protection bill designed to provide at least limited protection to health care consumers. Currently, a hospital may either admit a patient as an inpatient or keep them under observation. This categorization might apply to heart murmur, irregular heartbeat, indigestion, or other symptoms that would cause a senior or an individual with a disability who is covered by Medicare to go into the hospital. It probably makes little or no difference in the way the hospital treats the physical condition, but it can make a very big difference in terms of how the patient's pocketbook is cared for. Indeed, the effect of being under observation is that the patient gets stuck with the bill for any skilled nursing home care that is required for rehabilitative services after the stay at the hospital.…”