IV
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 293
Expressing the sense of the Congress on the importance of enacting patient
protection legislation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 22, 1998
Mr. GANSKE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on
Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress on the importance
of enacting patient protection legislation.
Whereas rapid changes in the health care marketplace have
compromised confidence in our Nation’s health system;
Whereas American consumers want more convenience, fewer
hassles, more choices, and better service from their health
insurance plans;
Whereas all Americans deserve quality-driven health care
driven by the patients’ best interest, not the bottom line
of the third-party payer;
Whereas payment arrangements in which health plans or in-
dividual health care providers reap a financial benefit
•HCON 293 IH
from providing less care threaten to compromise the
quality of care;
Whereas because of anomalies in the Tax Code, millions of
Americans receive their health care through their em-
ployer;
Whereas one survey found that 81 percent of small busi-
nesses offered their workers only 1 health plan;
Whereas for those individuals, the free market of health care
means that they are free to quit their job if they don’t
like their health plan;
Whereas managed care’s promise to slow health care inflation
is questionable at best;
Whereas most experts predict that many health plans will be
pushing for double-digit premium increases next year;
Whereas as Congress considers health care legislation, it
must first commit to protecting patients from the over-
zealous cost cutting conduct of some HMOs;
Whereas there are several high-quality managed care plans
who have endorsed the passage of legislation similar to
the Patients’ Bill of Rights (H.R. 3605), because they
recognize the need for enforceable Federal standards that
reflect the practices of good plans;
Whereas public opinion polls show the American public is
overwhelmingly in favor of managed care reform, includ-
ing improved information disclosure, access to emergency
care, a ban on gag rules, access to appropriate special-
ists, and third-party appeals;
Whereas while the States have done an excellent job regulat-
ing 
health 
plans 
within 
their 
jurisdiction, 
over
•HCON 293 IH
120,000,000 Americans are enrolled in ERISA plans that
are beyond the reach of State regulation;
Whereas ERISA is a regulatory vacuum, with inadequate pa-
tient safeguards;
Whereas ERISA shields group health plans from being held
responsible for the consequences of their actions;
Whereas group health plans, which make life-and-death deci-
sions, cannot be held accountable for their negligent con-
duct in State court; and
Whereas the State of Texas recently enacted a law to provide
patients with that remedy, and the cost to health plans
is very small: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that be-
fore adjourning sine die, Congress should pass health care
legislation that will—
(1) improve the quality of managed health care
plans;
(2) provide for Federal enforcement of these
rights and responsibilities; and
(3) ensure that doctors and patients, not health
plan accountants, make medical decisions.
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