SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY, RANKING MEMBER

Home State: Massachusetts

State History: Despite Massachusetts' founding on conservative Irish and Catholic populations weary of government intervention and promoters of laissez-faire, the state has become a state of democratic traditions. This transition was most notably marked by an increasingly leftist Kennedy family, and the 1970s and 1980s, during which the state gained the most liberal governance and national politics of any state across the country. Despite a more moderate fiscal governance movement in the 90s, the state remained true to its cultural and social liberalism. It still overwhelmingly supported Clinton with 61% of its vote in 1996, and with 48% of its ballots in 1992. Alongside the state's two Democratic senators, all ten of Massachusetts' House Representatives and significant majority of its key officials are also democrats.

TESTIMONY

Good evening President of Health Insurance Association of America, Mr. Secretary, President of General Motors, President of Families USA, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, panelists, for joining us. I am excited to meet with you all today, so that we may finally move forward on this piece of legislation, and so that we may recommend S.283 to the full Senate without further hesitation.

I believe that this bill has achieved considerable compromise across party lines, and I am proud to present the Patient Protection Act of 2001, which I introduced on January 22, 2001 alongside my fellow Senator and Republican, John McCain. We hope to see a resolution between the decisions made here today, and those being discussed in the House so that we may mark this bill as a significant step in increasing a patient's right to quality health care. We are also excited to note that S. 283 has now been co-sponsored by 17 other Senators.

I must start off by saying that "few, if any, issues are more important to the well-being of American families than access to high quality, affordable health care." This bill must be a legislative priority for us today in order to help us prepare for the changes of tomorrow. Most of all, I hope that we are able to come to an agreement on how to secure a citizen's right to obtain proper high quality services from his or her health care provider. "Given the dramatic rise in Americans' reliance on managed care organizations, Congress should pass a Patient's Bill of Rights to curb the health insurance abuses that too often put profits ahead of people."

Though 38 states currently allow patients to appeal medical decisions to external review boards, only seven give patients the right-to-sue. If state governments are not willing to take the initiative to protect our citizen's patient rights, then as a legislative body for the people, we must accept the responsibility given to us at the voting booths to take on this task.

I have heard from my fellow Republicans around the Senate floor that "in some respects, the Patient's Bill of Rights is not the volatile issue it once was." I disagree, everyone is still talking about what this legislation is capable of accomplishing, and what it means for American citizens. We must still fight for this right. I am not convinced that constituents have simply forgotten about this issue because election season is over.

Back in Massachusetts, my constituents across the board of demographics, have requested not just increased health care coverage, but a right to guarantee this good quality care-whether that be through executive committees, review boards, or the right to initiate litigation. I am sure that my residents are not alone, and that citizens across the United States have demanded this sort of attention. Patients should have a protected right to sue an insurance company or HMO for cause of injury or improperly denied claims.

There has been considerate criticism that the bill will encourage a flood of frivolous lawsuits but we cannot ignore that the proposal establishes an independent appeals system that would allow only litigation intended to genuinely promote quality health care to reach the state and federal court systems. Texas has now for three years allowed for patient claims against insurance companies, and only 15 suits have been filed. This leads me to believe that these claims are not inappropriate ones, but rather significant pleas, in which the patient deserves to fight against less than quality care. S. 283 outlines criteria and time frames for this external review process, since it will be so critical for many of these disagreements to be resolved quickly and fairly (McCain).

Cost containment is a national priority, but we must guarantee that patients are not made powerless against America's large corporate health care system when "clear and convincing evidence of bad faith and flagrant disregard for a patient's safety is proven."

The Patient Protection Act of 2001 has also established caps for litigation suits in order to assure that the health insurance industry is not forced into bankruptcy. I do not believe it a ridiculous proposal to make HMOs susceptible to the same claims that are most other industries in this country.

In closing, I must commend the President for acknowledging the flaws of our HMO system. In a letter to Congress earlier this year, he agreed that our laws must be changed to protect patients. The White House has expressed the need for lower caps, and the desire to make all cases heard at in the federal courts. I hope that we are able to find some common ground between S.283 and his proposed changes. I speak for bill's sponsors and myself when I say that the President's initiative to secure legislation that protects patients' rights does not go unnoticed.

I also applaud the President for including resources to improve health insurance access and the health care safety net in his FY 2002 budget. Again, I hope that we will be able to resolve our differences, and that we may move towards protecting America's citizens' rights to get equal and fair treatment from their health care providers.

These past five years of Congressional stalemate have been an endless road to nowhere. "It is long past time for this Congress to stop protecting HMO profits and start protecting patient's health." 54 senators have endorsed the legislation, and an additional five or six have privately pledged their support. With this sort of "firm, bipartisan commitment to improving our nation's health care system, [I am confident that] we can make great strides towards improving our nation's overall health and, in turn, help achieve the security and well-being of all Americans."

I look forward to hearing the panel's testimony today. Mr. Chairman, thank you.

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