ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Johnson Announces Hearing on Patient Bill of Rights:
Comparing the Major Alternatives

Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on patient bill of rights. The hearing will take place on Monday, July 16, 2001, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 4:00 pm.

Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include the primary authors of the major patient protection legislation before the House of Representatives. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

In 1998, the House passed the Patient Protection Act and in 1999 the House passed the Bipartisan Consensus Managed Care Improvement Act to protect patients enrolled in managed care plans and to ensure timely access to covered benefits. However, both bills failed to become law.

On April 24, 2001, the Subcommittee convened a hearing on issues relating to patient protections, including liability, in managed care. That hearing conveyed strong bipartisan sentiment to enact patient protection legislation, including access to OB/GYNs, access to specialists, a prudent layperson standard for emergency rooms, disclosure of plan information, and a prohibition on "gag clauses" on physicians. However, differences emerged on how to best enforce these patient protections.

Earlier this year, President Bush issued principles to guide legislators in crafting managed care legislation, and Reps. Ganske (R-IA) and Dingell (D-MI) introduced H.R. 526, the "Bipartisan Patient Protection Act of 2001." On June 26, Reps. Fletcher (R-KY), Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) introduced H.R. 2315, the "Patient Bill of Rights of 2001," which the President stated that he would sign if it were sent to him for signature. On June 29, after accepting 14 amendments on the floor, the Senate passed S. 1052, the "Bipartisan Patient Protection Act," cosponsored by Sens. McCain, Edwards and Kennedy. The President stated that he would veto that bill. These three bills represent the major alternatives before the House.

In announcing next week's hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The time to enact strong patient bill of rights legislation is long past due. I was heartened to see that the Senate adopted, by amendment, a number of the concepts embodied in the Fletcher-Peterson-Johnson legislation. However, several important policy differences remain among the Fletcher-Peterson-Johnson bill, the McCain-Edwards-Kennedy bill, and the Ganske-Dingell bill. This hearing will enable Members to compare the major alternatives before the House in order to become more informed on the issues, and to discover whether we can reach agreement. I want to pass a bill that can be signed by the President and become law this year."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

This hearing will focus attention on the major legislative alternatives before the House concerning patient protections in managed care. The hearing will explore whether common ground can be found on enforcement, and whether the House can pass legislation that will be signed into law.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Monday, July 30, 2001, to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Health office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at "http://waysandmeans.house.gov".

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.