Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization And Affordability Act Of 2006--Motion To Proceed--Continued
HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE MODERNIZATION AND AFFORDABILITY ACT OF 2006--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued -- (Senate - May 09, 2006)
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, recently I received a letter from the Governor, Governor Christine Gregoire of my home State of Washington, in which she expressed many of her concerns regarding this legislation and its impact on the people who live in my home State.
This chart behind me contains the full text of the Governor's letter. As you can see, she has many serious concerns. I wish to highlight for the Senate some of the main points our Governor has raised with me.
Governor Gregoire alludes to the harmful aspects of this bill, and she says:
[S. 1955] stands to harm our small group insurance market, which is a critical component of [Washington State's] current health care system. .....
Instead of promoting more affordable health care, this legislation would cause a serious increase in rates for consumers--possibly two or three times over what they now pay.
Governor Gregoire also warns in her letter to me that:
[this] bill threatens consumer protections that the state of Washington strives to guarantee to [all of] our residents.
The Governor also warns that this bill:
would foster a proliferation of health plans that do not cover preventive services that are absolutely vital to the health and well-being of Washington residents. .....
Mr. President, I would also like to share a letter that I have received from the 9,000-member Washington State Medical Association that wrote to me in strong opposition to S. 1955.
Now, this chart shows the full letter, and I want to read just a portion of it:
This legislation will have a severe impact on all the consumer health gains that have been made in Washington State over the past decade.
S. 1955 will:
Undermine Washington State's many gains in advancing health care quality;
Pull people from existing insurance coverage rather than attract the uninsured;
Lead to higher costs for consumers;
Strike down Washington's Mental Health Parity law, which took eight years of work to be enacted;
Eliminate other mandated benefits that help consumers such as mammography services; and,
Leave Washington's citizens at risk for unpaid medical bills in the event of an AHP insolvency.
That is from the head of the Washington State Medical Association, which has 9,000 members in my home State. I think their words should be heeded by the Members of this Senate.
Third, this proposal does nothing to address increasing health care costs.
In fact, it builds on the sorry record of this administration and this Congress in not addressing the rising costs that Americans face. Because of the flaws I mentioned, this bill does nothing to contain those costs. In fact, it could dramatically increase costs for many businesses and families in Washington State. It could well mean that people in the State of Washington who have affordable coverage today could end up worse off than they are right now.
I know my State has been a leader in working to expand access to affordable health insurance for working families and small businesses. Many of the reforms that worked to control costs in my State would be jeopardized if this legislation is enacted. Washington State has a proud tradition of strong consumer protections and integrated managed care that has improved health outcomes and controlled cost increases. We should not jeopardize what my State has fought hard for by dangerous Federal legislation.
I do support the concept of pooling. I believe we can implement policies that provide stability in health insurance premiums. In fact, I am currently working with a number of my colleagues on legislation to create Federal and State catastrophic cost pools to spread out the risks and address what is driving health care costs. We can help spread the risk in ways that will lower costs and still protect patients. The legislation before us could raise costs for consumers and small businesses. We can do better than that.
There are serious challenges facing our country when it comes to health care. This Senate needs to get serious. Instead of focusing on a distraction, we should be helping seniors with prescription drugs. We should be expanding lifesaving research, and we should be supporting community health care. Those are some of the things we should be working on to reduce the cost of health care and to improve access and to accelerate innovation. We can do all of those things, but we need the Republican leadership to get serious if we are going to provide serious solutions. We don't have a day to waste. I hope we can get to work on the real solutions that our American families deserve.
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