As I have said before, I believe we need to take the medical decisions out of the hands of the big health insurance company bureaucrats and the big HMOs and put them back where they belong with the physicians, nurses, health care professionals and patients.  Our automobile insurance policy at home allows us to choose which body shop to get our minivan repaired if and when we ever have a wreck.  Any yet many HMO health insurance plans want to tell you something as private and personal as who will be holding the knife if and when you ever need surgery.  

I am disappointed with the big health insurance companies and the big HMOs for the scare tactics they have been using with our small business owners.  I own a small business—we provide health insurance to our employees—and the scare tactics that these HMOs are putting out in regard to the number of potential lawsuits as a result of this bill are simply false.  The state of Texas has this law on the books, and it is working.  What the law is doing is making the big HMOs accountable to their patients on the front end, and that is why there have only been 17 lawsuits filed in the state of Texas—a very large state—since the law was enacted in 1997.

This is a good bill to provide our citizens with the freedom to choose their own doctor and the patient protections that they so desperately need.  Last year during the 2000 campaign, health care, especially the passage of a real and meaningful Patients’ Bill of Rights, was a top priority for Democrats and Republicans alike.  Unfortunately, the GOP Leadership in the House continues to stall and delay a vote on this important bipartisan legislation which has already been approved by the Senate.  I believe it’s time to stop delaying.  It’s time to pass the bipartisan Ganske-Dingell-Norwood-Berry Patients’ Bill of Rights.