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07/26/2009

The mission before us is clear — to provide every individual with affordable access to high quality health care. We can no longer be a nation that spends more than any other, yet leaves 1 in 4 of its citizens without comprehensive care.
Reform must involve extending help to families in need, and addressing the escalating cost of health care by moving to a system that rewards efficacy, quality and value. And each of us — individuals, employers, providers, insurance companies and the government — share responsibility for ensuring the health security of every American.
Make no mistake — our mission represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. This is an enormous task — one that has been attempted repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — for over a century. That’s why it’s so crucial that we not pass  just any bill, but one that will truly succeed in transforming our health-care system.
As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I have been meeting daily with a small, bipartisan group of senior committee members, including Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, to accomplish that goal.
Our committee has the dual responsibility of extending coverage as well as paying for reform. During our meeting in the Oval Office on July 16, I told President Barack Obama that while I am committed to ensuring universal, affordable health care this year, we in the Senate should not be constrained by an artificial timetable as we continue to draft meaningful and comprehensive health-reform legislation.
Fortunately, Senate leaders this week agreed with me and are no longer insisting on an unrealistic time frame for completion of our negotiations.
At the same time, Americans have been waiting far too long for comprehensive health-care reform for us to get it wrong simply because we want to get it quick. It’s imperative that our effort will demonstrably lower costs and result in affordable coverage.
Just as crucial is that health reform be sustainable. Our health-care system must be put on stronger fiscal footing both now and in the years ahead. And I want this reform to be accomplished in a transparent way so that the American people clearly understand what reform means for their family’s coverage and can have their voices heard. 
There’s no question we should preserve what does work in American health care — the sanctity of doctor-patient relationships, choice in coverage and providers, private sector innovation that is the hallmark of American medicine and the fundamental tenet that no one should be compelled to change insurance coverage they already have.
At the same time, when the average cost of family coverage now exceeds $12,000 a year — it is essential we make substantial improvements in cost and affordability.
Congress must implement long-overdue insurance market reforms such as the guaranteed issue of a policy to every American and must ban discriminatory pricing of policies on the basis of health status or gender.
We also must ensure that plans include a strong benefit package — from preventive services to comprehensive major medical benefits — patterned after the very coverage that members of Congress receive. Offering extra assistance to families who need help affording a plan is also an integral part of reform.
I believe the reforms we are creating will result in more competitive, affordable, innovative options for Mainers.
Yet we can all agree that we must not leave universal access to chance. That is why I support a fallback plan that guarantees affordable coverage and is available immediately in any state where private plans fail to adequately perform. This safety net will exert strong pressure on private plans to provide the lower cost quality coverage Americans need and deserve.
We must secure for our nation that which every other highly developed nation already embraces — the provision of health security for all its citizens.
 
Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe was first elected to the Senate in 1994, after representing Maine’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years. Time magazine wrote of Snowe: “Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington. But while Snowe is a major player on national issues, she is also known as one of the most effective advocates for her constituents.”

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