The Bipartisan Managed Care Reform Act — which she co-sponsored — provides direct access to OB-GYNs and pediatricians so women and children can go directly to these specialists without approval of a primary care "gatekeeper" physician. The bill also guarantees access to emergency room services — requiring insurers to pay ER bills for situations a "prudent layperson" believes to be an emergency, and banning surcharges for out-of-network ER visits. And coverage for approved clinical trials would be required, among other provisions.

 One of Congress’s leading advocates of health insurance reform, Marge sponsored her own health insurance reform bill and was an original co-sponsor of the version finally passed. She was the House sponsor of the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill passed in 1996 and sponsored the guaranteed 48-hour hospital stay for new mothers, also passed in 1996.

Mental Health Parity Supported
 Meanwhile, a first-ever report on mental health by the Surgeon General released in December said what Marge has said all along — that mental illness is a treatable illness, not a character flaw. The report supported increased health insurance coverage for mental illness treatment. Marge is sponsor of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Act, which would end discrimination against mental illness by barring insurance plans from setting lower limits than those for medical-surgical coverage. She said the new report will help her convince the House leadership to schedule a vote on her bill.