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 PROCEEDINGS
AND DEBATES OF THE 107th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION |
House of Representatives |
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| July 25, 2001 | |
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| Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor
of the Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry managed care reform legislation, H.R.
2563. I would like to take a moment to talk about one of my
constituents in south Arkansas. Her name is Wendelyn Osborne, who provides
a real life example of the need for a meaningful Patients' Bill of Rights.
Mrs. Osborne has a congenital and rare bone disease that involves continuous growth of her jawbone. She was not expected to live past the age of 14. She is now 35. Wendelyn's disease requires frequent trips to her specialist and surgeries. Unfortunately, each time she has to have an appointment, she must go through her primary care physician. Additionally, her surgeries to correct the continued growth of her jawbone, which are life-threatening, are considered cosmetic, but they are not. The Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry bill will
help Wendelyn in the following ways. It will remove the gatekeeper to her
medical care and allow her care to be coordinated by her specialist, and
it will give her a fair and timely external appeals process that will allow
her to appeal her case to independent medical experts. Let us pass this
bill. Let us pass it for Wendelyn Osborne.
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