Snowe: “It Is Essential To Breathe Bipartisan Life into Broken Health Insurance Reform Process Offer Commonsense and Targeted Reforms to Move Process Forward
BigNews.Biz - Feb 24,2010 - Citing a need to end partisan bickering and achieve results for American families facing health care insecurity, senior members of the Senate Finance Committee Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) recommended a path forward on health insurance reform.
“We remain convinced that convening a bipartisan group of Members who are committed to reform is essential if we are to breathe new life into the broken health care reform process and rebuild confidence that our government is able to set aside partisan bickering and achieve meaningful results for working families facing enormous health care insecurity. No one party or ideology carries a monopoly on ideas – our constituents do not care if a workable solution comes from Democrats or Republicans. Reforming one-sixth of our economy should involve broad bipartisan input to ensure that the critical needs of the American people are addressed.
“A cornerstone in bipartisan health insurance reform – and a key part of the Senate Finance Committee’s bill -- is enactment of the coverage policies and market reforms of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act, which we have championed along with Assistant Majority Leader Durbin. SHOP enjoys support from across the political spectrum, including the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Realtors, AARP, Families USA and the Service Employees International Union.
“Our SHOP legislation is an essential building block that we believe can serve as the foundation of health care reform moving forward. It would protect small businesses against enormous rate hikes if one of their employees gets sick, so that premiums become more affordable and predictable for business owners, their employees, and the self-employed. It would allow small businesses to comparison shop for health care coverage through an exchange similar to the one federal employees enjoy. SHOP would allow for national plans with uniform benefit packages to be sold across state lines, which would increase health insurance competition where there is currently little. And it would provide small businesses with a targeted tax credit to offer health insurance to their workers.
“These provisions would help preserve and expand coverage to the largest segment of the uninsured: those working for small businesses and the self-employed. It would do so without requiring tax increases. The SHOP bill could pass with bipartisan support, alongside other broadly supported health insurance reforms. These might include requiring greater cost transparency from insurance companies, commonsense malpractice reforms, and allowing young people to stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26. We believe that it is possible to take these critical first steps and to do so in a transparent and bipartisan manner.”
To date, attempts to achieve comprehensive health care reform have proven unsuccessful, and both Senators have warned against attempting to pass the most controversial elements of reform in the Senate through budget reconciliation, a process that would not require Republican support.
Senators Snowe and Lincoln believe that by moving forward today on achievable goals that already enjoy widespread bipartisan support from the American people, Congress
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