Jay Rockefeller: “I think it is an absolutely classic example of what it is the American people do expect us to do in Congress and what…”

“I think it is an absolutely classic example of what it is the American people do expect us to do in Congress and what they would like us to take on. It is a very real problem. As he indicated, they are very real families, very real people and they are in this situation, very helpless. I also join Senator Bradley in urging the majority leader, Senator Dole, to bring this bill to the floor as soon as possible. It did pass Labor and Human Resources by 14 to 2. That is not a close vote. That is virtually a unanimous vote. We are approaching Mother's Day. It would be nice to have this bill debated at that time. The legislation is absolutely vital in the turmoil which is now our health care system. It shifts the decisionmaking power of when a mother and her baby would be leaving a hospital, discharged home, so to speak, from an insurance company or an HMO, which has interesting missions in all of this, and then send it back to the doctor and to the patient. That is, the decision when to leave. That is why I signed on to this bill and became a cosponsor very, very early. Many large insurers are refusing to pay for more than 24 hours of maternity care.”