Sylvester Turner: “It is good to join my colleague here on the floor tonight to talk about the important issues that are still pending…”

“It is good to join my colleague here on the floor tonight to talk about the important issues that are still pending before this Congress that have not been acted upon. Here we are, very near the end of this session of Congress, and still we have been unable to see the patient's bill of rights put into law, which is so very essential to all Americans to ensure that they are able to make their medical decisions with the consultation of their doctors and not have that interfered with by the insurance company clerks that work for the HMOs. I think it is way pastime for Congress to act on this very, very critical issue. I had the opportunity when I was in the Texas legislature in 1995 to carry the first patient's bill of rights. It passed overwhelmingly in the legislature, had only 4 no votes, as I recall, out of 31 members of the State Senate. It passed by voice vote in the House. We recognized early on, as many States did, that we needed patient protection to be sure that doctors and not insurance companies are making medical decisions affecting our lives and our health.”