On April 23, 1997, the Patient Access to Responsible Care Act (PARCA) was introduced in the U.S. Congress. The bill will establish a set of national standards governing the conduct of health insurance plans, including managed care and self-insured ERISA plans, which are currently exempted from regulation at the state level.
The two most important elements of the proposed legislation are that all U.S. employees have access to a point of service plan (POS), and the prohibition against discrimination of providers "solely based on their license." POS plans have only been available over the last 10 years, but are becoming very popular, primarily because they allow enrollees the option of accessing a provider outside the network for a reasonable additional cost.
The legislation was introduced in the Senate as bill number S 644 and in the House of Representatives as bill number HR 1415. Initial drafts were developed by the Coalition for Health Care Choice and Accountability. The Coalition, initially formed by the American Chiropractic Association, includes 31 different health care provider associations of all types, including nurses, surgeons, MDs and dentists. The ACA has maintained a leadership role in the Coalition.
When the PARCA Bill was initially presented in Dynamic Chiropractic (please see "Patient Access Bill Brought Before Congress" in the May 31, 1997 issue), there were only 80 co-sponsors. PARCA now has 150. Only 50 more co-sponsors and the bill will be introduced on the House floor.
Your Role
Contact your Congressional representative and ask them to support Congressman Norwood's Patient Access to Responsible Care Act (PARCA). If you have Internet access, you can find your representatives' e-mail address at [url=http://www.house.gov]http://www.house.gov[/url] and your senators' e-mail addresses at [url=http://www.senate.gov]http://www.senate.gov[/url].
If you don't know who your representatives are, you can access [url=http://www.vote-smart.org]http://www.vote-smart.org[/url]. Simply enter your zip code, and this website will tell you who your Congressional representative is and who your senators are. This site gives you their e-mail addresses. With that information, you can quickly e-mail your request for their support of PARCA.
In particular, representatives from the states of California, Illinois, New York and Texas are being targeted. This is a list of those who have yet to become co-sponsors. Please e-mail, fax, call or write them now. There is a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing set for October 23rd. They need to hear from you by then.
California Congressional Delegation
Senate:
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-3553
Fax: N/A
E-mail: senator@boxer.senate.gov
House:
Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
1119 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6235
Fax: (202) 225-2202
Howard L. Berman (D-CA)
2330 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4695
Fax: (202) 225-5279
Brian P. Bilbray (R-CA)
1530 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2040
Fax: (202) 225-2948
E-mail: bilbray@hr.house.gov
Sonny Bono (R-CA)
324 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5330
Fax: (202) 225-2961
George E. Brown (D-CA)
2300 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6161
Fax: (202) 225-8671
E-mail: talk2geb@hr.house.gov
Ken Calvert (R-CA)
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1986
Fax: (202) 225-2004
Tom Campbell (R-CA)
2442 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2631
Fax: (202) 225-6788
E-mail: campbell@hr.house.gov
Gary Condit (D-CA)
2245 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6131
Fax: (202) 225-0819
E-mail: rep.condit@mail.house.gov
C. Christopher Cox (R-CA)
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5611
Fax: (202) 225-9177
E-mail: chriscox@hr.house.gov
Randy Cunningham (R-CA)
2238 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5452
Fax: (202) 225-2558
Ronald V. Dellums (D-CA)
2108 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2661
Fax: (202) 225-9817
Julian C. Dixon (D-CA)
2252 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-7084
Fax: (202) 225-4091
Cal Dooley (D-CA)
1201 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3341
Fax: (202) 225-9308
David Dreier (R-CA)
237 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2305
Fax: (202) 225-7018
Vic Fazio (D-CA)
2113 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5716
Fax: (202) 225-5141
E-mail: dcaucus@hr.house.gov
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
2427 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5811
Fax: (202) 225-1100
Jane Harman (D-CA)
325 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-8220
Fax: (202) 226-0684
E-mail: jharman@hr.house.gov
Wally Herger (R-CA)
2433 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3076
Fax: N/A
Steve Horn (R-CA)
438 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6676
Fax: (202) 226-1012
E-mail: stephen.horn@mail.house.gov
Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
2265 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5672
Fax: (202 225-0235
Jay Kim (R-CA)
227 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3201
Fax: (202) 226-1485
Tom Lantos (D-CA)
2217 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3531
Fax: N/A
E-mail: talk2tom@hr.house.gov
Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
2112 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5861
Fax: (202) 225-6498
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
318 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3072
Fax: (202) 225-3336
E-mail: zoegram@hr.house.gov
Matthew G. Martinez (D-CA)
2234 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5464
Fax: (202) 225-5467
Howard McKeon (R-CA)
307 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1956
Fax: (202) 226-0683
E-mail: tellbuck@hr.house.gov
Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA)
419 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-7924
Fax: (202) 225-7926
Ron Packard (R-CA)
2372 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3906
Fax: (202) 225-0134
E-mail: repackard@mail.house.gov
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
2457 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4965
Fax: (202) 225-8259
E-mail: sfnancy@hr.house.gov
Richard W. Pombo (R-CA)
1519 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1947
Fax: (202) 226-861
George P. Radanovich (R-CA)
213 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4540
Fax: (202) 224-3402
E-mail: george@hr.house.gov
James E. Rogan (R-CA)
502 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4176
Fax: (202) 226-1279
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
2338 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2415
Fax: (202) 225-0145
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
2435 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1766
Fax: (202) 226-0350
Ed Royce (R-CA)
1133 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4111
Fax: (202) 226-0335
Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
1529 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2965
Fax: (202) 228-5859
Brad Sherman (D-CA)
1524 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5911
Fax: (202) 225-5879
Ellen O. Tauscher (D-CA)
1440 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-1880
Fax: (202) 225-5914
William M. Thomas (R-CA)
2208 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2915
Fax: (202) 225-8798
Esteban Edward Torres (D-CA)
2269 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5256
Fax: (202) 225-9711
E-mail: arcoiris@hr.house.gov
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
2344 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2201
Fax: (202) 225-7854
Henry A. Waxman (D-CA)
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3976
Fax: (202) 225-4099
Illinois Congressional Delegation
Senate:
Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
364 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2152
Fax: (202) 228-0400
Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
324 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2854
Fax: (202) 224-2626
E-mail: senator@moseley-braun.senate.gov
House:
Rod R. Blagojevich (D-IL)
501 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4061
Fax: (202) 225-3128
Jerry F. Costello (D-IL)
2454 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5661
Fax: (202) 225-0285
E-mail: jfcil12@hr.house.gov
Philip M. Crane (R-IL)
233 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3711
Fax: (202) 225-7830
Thomas W. Ewing (R-IL)
2417 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2371
Fax: (202) 225-8071
Harris W. Fawell (R-IL)
2368 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3515
Fax: (202) 225-9420
E-mail: hfawell@hr.house.gov
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
2438 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-8203
Fax: (202) 225-7810
E-mail: luisg@hr.house.gov
J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
2241 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2976
Fax: (202) 225-0697
E-mail: dhastert@hr.house.gov
Jesse Jackson (D-IL)
313 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-0773
Fax: (202) 225-8608
William O. Lipinski (D-IL)
1501 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5701
Fax: (202) 225-1012
Donald Manzullo (R-IL)
409 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5676
Fax: (202) 225-5284
John Edward Porter (R-IL)
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4835
Fax: N/A
Bobby Rush (D-IL)
131 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4372
Fax: (202) 226-0333
E-mail: brush@hr.house.gov
John M. Shimkus (R-IL)
513 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5271
Fax: (202) 225-5880
Gerald C. Weller (R-IL)
130 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3635
Fax: (202) 225-3521
Sidney R. Yates (D-IL)
2109 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2111
Fax: (202) 225-3493
New York Congressional Delegation
Senate:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY)
464 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-4451
Fax: (202) 228-0406
E-mail: senator@dpm.senate.gov
House:
Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-NY)
2246 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3665
Fax: (202) 225-1891
E-mail: boehlert@hr.house.gov
Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
2303 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2464
Fax: (202) 225-5513
E-mail: engeline@hr.house.gov
Floyd H. Flake (D-NY)
1035 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3461
Fax: (202) 226-4169
Michael P. Forbes (R-NY)
416 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3826
Fax: (202) 225-3143
E-mail: mpforbes@hr.house.gov
Amo Houghton (R-NY)
1110 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3161
Fax: (202) 225-5574
E-mail: houghton@hr.house.gov
Peter King (R-NY)
403 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-7896
Fax: (202) 226-2279
E-mail: peteking@hr.house.gov
Rick Lazio (R-NY)
2444 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3335
Fax: (202) 225-4669
E-mail: lazio@hr.house.gov
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
2421 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6506
Fax: (202) 225-0546
Thomas J. Manton (D-NY)
2235 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3965
Fax: (202) 225-1909
E-mail: tmanton@hr.house.gov
Michael R. McNulty (D-NY)
2161 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5076
Fax: (202) 225-5077
E-mail: mmcnulty@hr.house.gov
Major R. Owens (D-NY)
2305 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6231
Fax: (202) 226-0112
Bill Paxon (R-NY)
2412 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5265
Fax: (202) 225-5910
E-mail: bpaxon@hr.house.gov
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
2211 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6616
Fax: (202) 225-4183
Jose Serrano (D-NY)
2342 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4361
Fax: (202) 225-6001
E-mail: jserrano@hr.house.gov
Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
1221 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2361
Fax: (202) 226-0327
Texas Congressional Delegation
Senate:
Phil Gramm (R-TX)
370 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
283 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-5922
Fax: (202) 224-0776
E-mail: senator@hutchison.senate.gov
House:
Bill Archer (R-TX)
1236 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2571
Fax: (202) 225-4381
Richard K. Armey (R-TX)
301 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-7772
Fax: N/A
Joe Barton (R-TX)
2264 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2002
Fax: (202) 225-3052
E-mail: barton06@hr.house.gov
Kenneth E. Bentsen (D-TX)
128 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-7508
Fax: (202) 225-2947
E-mail: bentsen@hr.house.gov
Henry Bonilla (R-TX)
1427 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4511
Fax: (202) 225-2237
Kevin P. Brady (R-TX)
1531 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4901
Fax: (202) 225-2772
Tom DeLay (R-TX)
341 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-5951
Fax: (202) 225-5241
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
126 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-4865
Fax: (202) 225-3073
E-mail: doggett@hr.house.gov
Chet Edwards (D-TX)
2459 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-6105
Fax: (202) 225-0350
Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX)
2413 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-3236
Fax: (202) 225-1915
Kay Granger (R-TX)
515 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 2051
