Norwood visits city to argue for his bipartisan HMO bill

Web posted August 19, 1999

By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer

Once accused of being a foot soldier for Republican leaders, U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., is bucking his party's leadership to press a bipartisan health care reform bill.

Dr. Norwood answered questions about his legislation Wednesday at a lunch meeting of the CSRA Medical Managers' Association. He has teamed with John Dingell, D-Mich., to push the Consensus Managed Care Improvement Act.

Among other things, the bill would require access to specialists when needed, guarantee a woman direct access to a gynecologist, and give patients an external appeals process and also the right to sue for damages in state court if care is denied and the company refuses to abide by an independent panel's decision. Mr. Norwood's bill would exclude the employer from liability and prohibit punitive damages, although a judge could add a $250,000 fine if the insurance company stalled or delayed a decision on care.

The right to sue has attracted the most criticism from opponents of the bill, such as the managed care industry group American Association of Health Plans.

``(T)his legislation is built on the erroneous premise -- rejected this year alone in 24 states -- that trial lawyers are the sole guardians of good medical care,'' said president and CEO Karen Ignagni in a statement released when the bill was filed earlier this month.

Mr. Norwood rejects that argument, pointing out that the independent review panel will make it harder to win a suit if the decision goes against the patient, and damages are limited under the bill.

``This bill makes it pretty hard to be negligent,'' Mr. Norwood said. In states that do have similar legislation, ``that health care accountant who is so willing to overrule the physician who has examined the patient is thinking about this a little bit.''

An earlier consensus bill Mr. Norwood supported was scuttled suddenly a few weeks ago, forcing him to go to Mr. Dingell for aid.

When they filed their bipartisan bill, ``there's probably no other way to say it, all hell broke loose,'' Mr. Norwood said. ``You have to understand the Republican leadership wants a Republican bill. (House Minority Leader) Mr. (Richard) Gephardt probably wants a Democratic bill. The problem is neither one of those will work.''

Republicans will scuttle a Democratic bill and President Clinton won't sign a Republican one, Mr. Norwood said. ``It was pretty important, we thought, to have it bipartisan in nature,'' Mr. Norwood said.

But a former opponent says he doubts Dr. Norwood's sincerity for bipartisanship and patient reforms.

Democrat David Bell, who opposed Dr. Norwood in 1996 and is ``looking very closely'' at a run in 2000, said Mr. Norwood ``flip-flopped'' to supporting managed care reforms when it appeared to be the more popular choice.

``Only when he felt vulnerable, because he's in a Democratic district, did he try and save himself with political expediency,'' Mr. Bell said.

Tom Corwin covers science and medicine for The Augusta Chronicle. He can be reached at (706) 823-3213 or tomc@augustachronicle.com.