Copyright 1999 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
March 17, 1999
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 1285 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY March 17, 1999 JAMES M. JEFFORDS CHAIRMAN SENATE
HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS PATIENTS' BILL OF
RIGHTS PENDING NOMINATIONS
BODY:
Statement
of Chairman James M. Jeffords (R-VT) Markup of the Patients' Bill of
Rights Act (S. 326) .This afternoon we will begin consideration of S.
326, the Patients Bill of Rights. This is one of the most
important bills this committee will consider in this entire Congress, and I
appreciate the cooperation all of the members have shown in bringing us to this
point. In front of you is a tentative agenda for this afternoon. As indicated
there, working with Senator Kennedy and the various amendment sponsors we have
laid out time agreements and a sequence for the amendments. The timing of when
we begin debate on an amendment is meant as a guide only, since some time will
be consumed by votes and I expect some time will be yielded back.. But I hope it
will serve to give members some notice of what to expect and I appreciate the
help of the minority in pulling together this agreement. I hope we will be able
to reach a similar agreement for tomorrow's session, when we will have to cover
about twice the ground we will cover today. S.326 addresses those areas of
health care quality on which there is a broad consensus. It is solid legislation
that will result in a greatly improved health care system for all Americans.
This Committee has been long dedicated to action in order to improve the quality
of health care.The latest chapter began two years ago last week, when the
Committee held its first hearing on consumer protection issues within managed
care and fee-for- service plans. Since then, our commitment to developing
appropriate managed care standards has been demonstrated by the 17 additional
hearings related to health care quality. And Senator Frist's Public Health and
Safety Subcommittee held three hearings on the work of the Agency for Health
Care Policy and Research (AHCPR). Each of these hearings helped us in developing
the separate pieces of legislation that are reflected in our "Patients'
Bill of Rights." (More) Washington, D.C. (202) 224-5141 * Burlington
(802) 658-6001 * Montpelier (802) 223-5273 * Rutland (802) 77 3-387-) Toll Free
1-800-835-5500 Statement of Chairman James M. Jeffords (R-VT) Markup of the
Patients' Bill of Rights Act (S. 326) March 17,1999 - Page 2
People need to know what their plan will cover and how they will get their
health care. The "Patients' Bill of Rights" requires full
disclosure by an employer about the health plans it offers to employees.
Patients also need to know how adverse decisions by a plan can be appealed, both
internally and externally, to an independent medical reviewer. Under our bill
the reviewer's decision will be binding on the health plan. However, the patient
will maintain his or her current rights to go to court. Timely utilization
decisions and a defined process for appealing such decisions are the keys to
restoring trust in the health care system. Our legislation also provides
Americans covered by health insurance with new rights to prevent discrimination
based on predictive genetic information. It ensures that medical decisions are
made by physicians in consultation with their patients and are based on the best
scientific evidence. And it provides a stronger emphasis on quality improvement
in our health care system with a refocused role for AHCPR. Our goal should be to
promote the best practice of medicine and not be satisfied with generally
accepted practices of medicine. Some believe that the answer to improving our
nation's health care quality is to allow greater access to the tort system.
However, you simply cannot sue your way to better health. We believe that
patients must get the care they need when they need it. In the
"Patients' Bill of Rights," we make sure each patient is
afforded every opportunity to have the right treatment decision made by health
care professionals. In the event that does not occur, patients have the recourse
of pursuing an outside appeal. Prevention, not litigation, is the best medicine.
Our bill creates new, enforceable Federal health care standards to cover those
48 million of the 124 million Americans covered by employer-sponsored plans.
These are the very same people that the States, through their regulation of
private health insurance companies, cannot protect. (More) Statement of Chairman
James M. Jeffords (R-VT) Markup of the Patients' Bio of Rights Act (S. 326)
March 17, 1999 - Page 3 What are these standards? They include: I ) a prudent
layperson standard for emergency care; 2) a mandatory point of service option;
3) direct access to OB/GYNs and pediatricians; 4) continuity of care; and 5) a
prohibition on gag rules. Federal health insurance standards that duplicate the
it would be inappropriate to set surance departments. As the National
Association of responsibility of the fifty State in Insurance Commissioners, put
it: "(w)e do not want States to be preempted by Congressional or administrative
actions. ... Congress should focus attention on those consumers who have no
protections in self-funded ERISA plans." Senator Kennedy's approach would set
health insurance standards that duplicate the responsibility of the fifty State
insurance departments. Worse yet, it would mandate that the Health Care
Financing Administration (HCFA) enforce them if a State decides not to adopt
them. HCFA cannot even keep up with its current responsibilities. This past
recess Senator Leahy and I held a meeting in Vermont to let New England home
health providers meet with HCFA. It was a packed and angry house, with providers
traveling from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. It is in no one's
best interest to build a dual system of overlapping State and Federal health
insurance regulation. Increasing health insurance premiums causes significant
losses in coverage. Last year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pegged the
cost of the Democratic bill at five times higher than S. 326. Based on our best
estimates, passage of the Democratic bill would result in a loss of coverage for
1.2 million Americans. Let me repeat that. Adoption of the Democratic approach
would cancel the insurance policies of over a million Americans. I cannot
support legislation that would result in the loss of health insurance coverage
for more than twice the population of Vermont. Fortunately, we can provide the
key protections that consumers want at a minimal cost and without disruption of
coverage -- if we apply these protections responsibly and where they are needed.
(More) Statement of Chairman James M. Jeffords (R-VT) Markup of the
Patients' Bill of Rights Act (S. 326) March 17,1999 - Page 4
Next month, the HELP Committee will consider another important consumer
protection issue -- the privacy of medical records. Since I intend to move that
more comprehensive bill separately, the confidentiality provisions have been
removed from the Chairman's mark of S. 326. Medical records privacy is a very
complex issue which holds much interest for all our members, and must be
completed by August, 1999. It is an issue too important to "fold into" another
bill in an abbreviated fashion. Given the amount of work that the Committee has
invested in this legislation, it is now time to approve this bill and send it to
the floor. S. 326, the "Patients' Bill of Rights Act," provides
necessary consumer protections without adding significant new costs; without
increasing litigation; and without micro-managing health plans. Our goal is to
give Americans the protections they want and need in a package that they can
afford and that we can enact. This is why I hope the "Patients' Bill of
Rights" we are marking up today will be enacted and signed into law by
the President.
LOAD-DATE: April 12, 1999
