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For Immediate
Release
October 14,
2009
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Communications
Coordinator
1-800-838-0388
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CONSUMER
HEALTH GROUP ENCOURAGED BY
SEN. SNOWE VOTE
But More Needs to Be Done in Next Round of
Committee Work to
Make Coverage More
Affordable |
(Augusta) Consumers for Affordable Health Care
(CAHC), Maine's largest consumer health care coalition,
is pleased Senator Olympia Snowe is supporting important
health reform legislation in the Senate Finance
Committee (SFC). The bill now moves to the next stage -
merging SFC with another crafted by the Senate HELP
(Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee.
Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has said he would
like to have the bill merger begin by next week.
The SFC bill represents an important next
step in our nation's struggle to fix our broken health
care system. But coverage is still unaffordable
for many Mainers under the finalized version of the SFC
bill. For example, under the SFC bill, a family of three
with a household income of $73,300 could have to spend
nearly $9,000 a year on premiums. That's too high and
does not include a major portion of family spending on
health care- out of pocket costs for co-pays,
deductibles, and coinsurance. CAHC advocates that all
health care costs - premiums and out-of-pocket costs -
be included when calculating subsidies or actual
household spending to determine the affordability of
coverage.
Maine people and small business
owners are being overwhelmed by skyrocketing health care
costs, or simply can't afford coverage at all.
About 130,000 uninsured Mainers and thousands more
underinsured residents remain unprotected if illness or
injury strikes. We need a healthy work force in order
for our economy to strengthen and thrive. CAHC is
glad that Senator Snowe seems to realize this, and voted
for Maine people rather than party lines.
"A health care bill is crucial to helping
our economy recover. No bill will ever be perfect or
satisfy everyone. More work is still needed to make
coverage more affordable for Maine families and small
businesses. Subsidies should cover premiums and
out of pocket costs. We are encouraged that the
SFC and Senator Snowe produced a bipartisan bill that
should reduce the country's deficit and provide coverage
to more people," says CAHC Executive Director, Joe
Ditré.
CAHC is still hopeful that other important
provisions will be added to the final health reform bill
that comes out of Congress.
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Additional
provisions we'd like to see in the bill:
- No individual or family should have to spend more
than 7% of their income on the cost of premiums, and
other out of pocket health care costs. Spending
more than that could bankrupt many Maine families and
force employers out of business.
- Subsidies provided to lower and middle income
families up to at least 400% of the Federal Poverty
Level (FPL). Those above 400% of the FPL who do
not receive subsidies should have lower contribution
costs.
- A public insurance option. Polls show the
majority of Maine people support it. With about
60% of Americans claiming bankruptcy because of health
care costs, and most of those having insurance-it is
clear we need an insurance option that is not based on
profit.
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Consumers for Affordable Health Care is a
non-profit, non-partisan organization that has been
helping Maine people get quality, affordable health care
for more than 20 years.
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For more information or to schedule interviews
contact: Cherilee Budrick, Communications Coordinator
Consumers for Affordable Health
Care 207-622-7083 cbudrick@mainecahc.org
Consumers for Affordable
Health Care * P.O. Box 2490 *
Augusta, ME *
04330-2490 | |
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